CECON ASA – Revised and Amended Term sheet approved for the refinancing of bonds.
The board of directors of Cecon ASA (the "Company") has on 31 January 2011 resolved to approve a Revised and Amended term sheet negotiated between a bondholder group representing the largest bondholders and certain shareholders (the "Term Sheet") to refinance and restructure the company's outstanding indebtedness. This Term Sheet is a revision of the Term Sheet disclosed to the market on 13 Oct. 2010.
The current bond debt consists of two bond loans:
One 5 year loan of USD 100.000.000 issued by Cecon Shipping 1 AS and Cecon Shipping 2 AS
One 1 year bond loan of USD 12.500.000 issued by Cecon ASA
In addition to the two loans there is accrued interest owed to the bondholders
The key terms set out in the Term Sheet are:
• The Holders of the existing USD 100.000.000 bond loan and the USD 12.500.000 bond will receive partial settlement of their loans and accrued interest. A restated and amended 5 year bond loan on USD 73.125.000 at 8% annual interest will be issued to existing holders of both bond loans. This is a combination of USD 65.000.000 from the 5 year loan plus USD 8.125.000 from the one year loan.
• A total USD 56.106.250, including calculated interest based on an anticipated closing date, will be settled by issuance of 49,500,000 new shares.
• The company will raise new capital through a private placement of a bond with attached warrants of between 5 and 7 mill USD. The bond and warrants will have duration of two years. The coupon of the bonds will be 5 % and the exercise price of the warrants will be NOK 0,65. Depending on the total amount issued, the maximum number of warrants will be 65.000.000. The minimum issue of 5 mill USD has been pre-subscribed.
These transactions are conditioned upon a positive decision in bondholder meetings, and a decision in an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders to issue the necessary warrants attached to the new bond.
A number of shareholders which constitutes 63% of all issued shares in the company, including management, have signed an undertaking to support and vote in favour of this term sheet. So far 54,8% of the bondholders have consented to similar undertakings to vote for the proposal.
The revision and the amendments to the original Term Sheet have been required to accommodate the security package.
For further information, contact:
CFO Ivar H. Halvorsen +47 48 13 22 45
