FSL Trust uses proceeds from bond issue as partial repayment for loan

FIRST Ship Lease (FSL) Trust Management on Friday said it has raised net proceeds of about US$7 million following the issue of its redeemable 7 per cent convertible bonds on May 21.

About US$6.68 million, or 95 per cent of the proceeds, has been used as partial repayment for an existing syndicated loan.

This amount, along with US$3.35 million from cash available to the trust has been repaid, reducing the outstanding amount under the loan to US$109.94 million.

With regard to the bond issue, the parties involved have also entered into a supplemental agreement on May 24 to amend the terms and conditions to provide that any sale, transfer, or assignment of the bonds by the subscriber shall be subject to prior approval of unitholders of FSL Trust, if the transferred bonds are being sold, or assigned to the issuer's directors and substantial shareholders.

Approval from unitholders is also required if the conversion of the transferred bonds into new units would result in the trust issuing new units to transfer a controlling interest, FSL Trust Management said.

Units in FSL Trust closed flat at S$0.082 per unit on Thursday.