AST Group plc, an animal feed trading and shipping company headquartered in Malta, has announced the issuance of €8.5 million 6.25 per cent secured bonds, maturing in 2033.
The bonds will have a nominal value of €100 per bond issued and redeemable at par, subject to the results of the existing bondholder meeting that is scheduled for 10th May. AST Group has also called a meeting to encourage holders of the €2 million 5.5 per cent unsecured bonds 2028 to consider the early redemption of the 2018 AST Prospects MTF Bonds and instead get subscribed to the new issue.
Upon redemption of the 2018 bonds, all bondholders will be paid a premium in the form of €1 per bond held as at the cut-off date on 20th April.
In the company’s prospectus, which was released on the same day as the cut-off date, AST Group announced that the proceeds from the bond issue, net of expenses, are set to amount to approximately €8.2 million, will be on-lent to its subsidiary, AST Green Shipping Ltd. This is pursuant to a loan agreement that the two companies will be entered into.
The agreement will see €1.6 million of the proceeds be issued to part finance the redemption of the outstanding amount of the 2018 bonds remaining in issue as at or about their expected redemption date, 16th June 2023.
The company also announced that €6.5 million of the bond issue net proceeds will be used to finance the purchase of new vessels and any costs related to any upgrades that could take place to its vessels. This comes as AST Group plans to expand its fleet while continuing to increase its animal feed operations. The company stated that the number of vessels to be purchased will depend on prevailing market trends at the time of purchase, as well as vessel availability. The new vessels shall be managed by DS Shipping Limited and chartered to Damask Investments by DS Chartering Limited.
Lastly, the remaining amount, which is set to be around €100,000, will be used for the “general corporate funding purposes” of the group.
The company considers existing bondholders to be those that still appeared on the applicable register at the Malta Stock Exchange Central Securities Depositary as at last Tuesday. It ceased trading of the existing bonds on close of business last Friday.
AST Group added that preference for the applications of the new bonds shall be given to prior bondholders for their existing holding.
Last month, AST Group underwent changes in its senior management, with Giuseppe Muscat having his designation changed from Non-Executive Director to Executive Director, while Austin Demajo was appointed Non-Executive Director.
Over the course of the first half of 2022, the group registered €206,531 in pre-tax profit, a steady improvement from the €129,662 recorded in the same period in 2021. This largely came about because of a 72.6 per cent surge in revenue, amounting to €25.2 million.
AST Group is a Malta-headquartered animal feed trading and shipping operations company that is structured across various companies and brands. The animal feed trading business operates across the Mediterranean and European regions under the Damask Investment brand, while its shipping and chartering businesses operate through DS Shipping Limited and DS Chartering Limited, respectively. Through its subsidiaries, the group also owns, manages, and charters a multipurpose vessel named AST/MALTA, primarily used for the delivery of animal feed across the Mediterranean Sea.
