Bulgaria's Monbat seeks delay of bond principal payment

The delay is called for by the time Monbat needs to absorb secured financing, which it will use in addition to its own funds to make the principal payment representing 30% of the total bond placement, the company said in a bourse filing.

The proposal will be put to the vote at a general meeting of bondholders scheduled on January 22. Bondholders registered with the Central Depository as of January 17 have the right to participate in the meeting.

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

The bond, issued on January 20, 2018, has a maturity of seven years and carries a coupon based on six-month EURIBOR plus 3%, bourse data show. The current coupon rate stands at 6.941%, while the outstanding principal amounts to 22.4 million euro.

Shares in Monbat last traded on Wednesday when they closed at 3.92 levs ($2.20/2.00 euro) on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.

($ = 0.9130 euro)