29 June 2020.4finance Holding S.A. (the “Group”), one of Europe’s largest digital consumer lending groups, announces it has commenced the formal process to amend the terms & conditions of its EUR 2021 bonds.
Follows supportive feedback from investor consultation period
The notice of invitation to vote on a nine-month extension to the maturity, to February 2022, has been published today in the German Federal Gazette and on the Group’s website, alongside other supporting documents.
After a consultation process involving investors owning nearly half of the outstanding EUR bonds by value, there has been robust support for the proposed amendment terms. If the amendment is successfully passed, all EUR bondholders will receive an amendment fee of 25bps, and holders who participate in the vote will receive an additional 50bps. All other terms, except the maturity date and associated interest payment dates, will remain unchanged. The Group also commits to add its operating entity in the Czech Republic to the list of guarantors for its EUR and USD bonds.
The result of the vote is expected in mid-July, and if the required quorum of 50% is not obtained, a second vote with a quorum of 25% could take place in mid-August. The full documentation is available here.
Paul Goldfinch, CFO of 4finance, commented:
“Whilst this was not part of our original refinancing plans at the start of the year, we have been encouraged by the response of EUR bondholders in recent weeks. The overwhelming majority have understood the rationale for this proposed extension to the maturity of the EUR bonds and have indicated their support. We welcome further engagement with any of our investors and encourage EUR bondholders to participate in the upcoming voting process. If successful, it will allow us a proper opportunity to refinance the business when high yield capital markets, and our financial results, are less impacted by the Covid-19 situation.
“Operationally we have continued to make good progress since our Q1 results call. So far in June, both online loan issuance volumes, and online loan repayment dynamics, have further improved from the levels seen in May.”
