MMH Finance, the finance vehicle of Mediterranean Maritime Hub (MMH Holdings Ltd), has confirmed that it will be able to meet its bond interest obligations this year on its €15 million bond issue, which matures on 14th October 2026.
At the same time, the company announced yet another delay in the publication of its audited financial statements for 2024, with both these accounts and its interim financial statements for the period ending 30th June 2025 now expected to be published by 18th December 2025.
This represents a major extension beyond the original 30th April 2025 deadline, after the group had already postponed publication of its 2024 financial statements first to 30th June and later to today, 25th August.
Back in September 2024, MMH Group disclosed that it would need to secure alternative financing to redeem the €15 million bond upon maturity. In its latest update, the company confirmed that it is still “in discussions with a prospective investor group,” noting that the group is “currently continuing its due diligence review on the MMH Group.”
Should MMH fail to repay its bondholders next year, Malta would face its first significant corporate bond default.
The company, which holds a 65-year lease over the former Marsa Shipbuilding site granted by the Maltese Government in 2016, has been trying to find strategic investors since at least the beginning of 2023, when it signed a letter of intent with Virtu Holdings, the operator of Virtu Ferries, and a subsidiary of Francis Busuttil & Sons, one of Malta’s leading food distributors.
That deal fell through, leading the company to admit in September 2024 that it will require “alternative financing” to redeem a €15 million bond falling due on 14 October 2026, issued through MMH Finance plc, the financing arm of the group.
Subsequent talks with the Government to negotiate a “balanced” termination of the concession were not successful, raising the very real possibility that bondholders would be left in the lurch.
That possibility now seems a bit less likely, with a group of major investors reportedly including business groups involved in shipping, fisheries, construction and logistics, among others, set to step in.
The company said it would continue issuing updates “as and when necessary” and stressed that MMH Malta Limited remains fully operational and committed to its customers.