Step 1: Compare with shareholders:
Shareholders own the company and share its risk through dividends that vary with profit; debenture holders, in contrast, receive a fixed interest regardless of profit and have priority over shareholders on winding up — both marks of a creditor, not an owner.
Step 2: Confirm the classification:
Because their claim is a fixed debt obligation rather than a share in ownership, debenture holders are correctly classified as creditors.
Final Answer:
(C) Creditors of the company.