Industrial Holding Bulgaria plans 15.3 mln euro bond issue

The decision will be put to the vote at a meeting of the company’s shareholders and bondholders scheduled for December 17, IHB said in a note to investors on Monday.

The blue-chip company plans to issue 300,000 bonds with a par value of 100 levs each, equal to their sale price. The bonds will carry an annual interest rate of 6.5%.

The issue will be considered successful if bonds worth at least 22 million levs are subscribed.

IHB was set up in 1996 as a privatisation fund under Bulgaria's voucher privatisation programme. It was transformed into a holding structure in 1998. Its investment portfolio, which includes stakes in more than 20 companies, is focused on shipbuilding and machine building.

IHB shares last traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange on November 8, when they ended flat at 0.736 levs in a volume of 931 shares.

(1 euro=1.95583 Bulgarian levs)