AusGroup noteholders vote to extend maturity date again

HOLDERS of AusGroup's S$110 million medium-term notes voted on Friday to extend the maturity date again in the company's debt restructuring, AusGroup announced after the market closed.

The notes, issued in 2014, were originally due in 2016 with a 7.45 per cent coupon rate. Noteholders had earlier agreed to extend the payout date till Oct 20, 2018 with a coupon rate of 8.45 per cent. On Friday, noteholders agreed to extend the maturity date again, to four years after satisfying the conditions precedent in a third supplemental trust deed.

Noteholders represented S$64.32 million or 88.41 per cent of the principal amount of the notes outstanding voted at Friday's extraordinary general meeting. Of the 267 votes cast, all of them were in favour of the move.

On Friday, AusGroup accordingly entered the third supplemental trust deed with Ezion Offshore Logistics Hub as Singapore obligor, NT Port and Marine Pty Ltd as Australian obligor, DBS Trustee Limited as trustee, and PT Limited as security trustee, to amend various provisions of the trust deed and the conditions of the notes.

Interest on the notes will be tweaked to 5 per cent for the first year after the third supplemental trust deed conditions are satisfied, 6 per cent for the second year, and 7 per cent a year from then on.

Also approved was a make-whole premium of S$7,680.96 for each note, to be paid on Oct 20 - though, as it is not a business day, the premium will be paid on Oct 22.