Aston Martin Lagonda (AML), Currys (CURY) and Nanoco (NANO)
Aston Martin Lagonda (AML) is to raise £1.14bn through a new bond issue. The company will issue five-year notes which, along with a £70mn-£170mn extension of an existing credit line, will be used to pay off outstanding debts.
At the end of last year, Aston Martin had around £980mn of senior secured notes outstanding, attracting interest charges of between 10.5 per cent and 15 per cent.
No information was given on the pricing of the new notes.
HSBC analysts recently cut their target price on Aston Martin to 155p a share, stating that the business needs to “reach the point of self-funding”. Despite raising £965mn of fresh equity from shareholders over the past two years, it has burned through £948mn on capex, R&D and interest payments, the analysts added. The shares rose by 2 per cent in early trading, to 159p. MF
Read more: Aston Martin struggles with debt and delays EV debut
Elliott Advisors abandons Currys acquisition
Currys (CURY) shares fell by 9 per cent in early trading after US activist investor Elliott Advisors pulled out of the race to acquire it. The electronics retailer rejected two takeover proposals from Waterstones owner Elliott last month, at 62p per share and 67p per share, arguing that they undervalued the business. Elliott said this morning that it doesn’t intend to make an improved offer for Currys, after “multiple attempts to engage” with the board were spurned. Chinese retail group JD.com went on the record in February to confirm its interest in potentially making a bid. CA
