Meyer Burger kicks off CHF-100m bond sale

Sep 17, 2014 - Swiss solar machinery maker Meyer Burger Technology AG (SWF:MBTN) said today it had initiated an offering of up to CHF 100 million (USD 107m/EUR 83m) worth of senior convertible bonds due 2020, seeking to enhance its working capital.

The placement will consist of several separate transactions -- a public offering in Switzerland and private offerings in some jurisdictions outside of the country and the US. The raised funds will, in part, be allocated to back investment in demonstrational equipment and for general corporate needs, the company explained.

The senior unsecured bonds, maturing on September 24, 2020, will bear an annual coupon of between 3.5% and 4.5%, while the conversion price will be set at a premium of 25%-30% over the volume weighted average price of the shares between the deal announcement and bond pricing. The bonds will be convertible into up to 8.8 million registered shares of Meyer Burger Technology Ltd, equal to 9.8% of the firm’s current outstanding share capital. They have an investor put option set for September 24, 2018.

Meyer Burger will define the final terms of the offering through an institutional bookbuilding process, which will be completed on Wednesday. The Swiss firm expects the bonds to start trading on the bourse on or around September 23.

Credit Suisse Group AG (VTX:CSGN) and UBS AG (VTX:UBSN) will act as joint book-runners of the deal.

(CHF 1.0 = USD 1.071/EUR 0.827)

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