Bulgaria's Monbat bondholders okay bond principal payment delay

The proposal was given the green light at a general meeting of bondholders held on January 22, Monbat said in a stock exchange filing on Monday.

The delay was requested to allow Monbat sufficient time to absorb secured financing, which, combined with its own funds, will be used to fulfill the principal payment, constituting 30% of the overall bond placement, the battery maker said earlier.

Last January, Monbat pushed back the bond's first principal payment due to a delay in finalising a deal with UK battery cell technology company Britishvolt, the proceeds of which it planned to use to make the payment.

The bond, issued on January 20, 2018, has a maturity of seven years and bears a coupon based on six-month EURIBOR plus 3%, bourse data show. The current coupon rate stands at 6.867%, while the outstanding principal totals 14 million euro.

As of 0930 CET on Tuesday, shares in Monbat traded flat at 3.82 levs ($2.13/1.95 euro) on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.

($ = 0.9183 euro)