OHL’s shareholders approve the refinancing and recapitalization of the company
March 26, 2021
OHL held its Extraordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting today, at which the resolutions proposed by the company were approved in a meeting held entirely online due to the state of emergency caused by Covid-19.
Specifically, the company has sought the approval of its shareholders to carry out the refinancing and recapitalization operation announced to the market on January 21. On that date, it was reported that OHL’s main shareholders, the Amodio family, the Villar Mir Group and a relevant group of bondholders had reached a recapitalization and refinancing agreement.
As highlighted by the company’s president, Luis Amodio, in his speech at the meeting, “with this financial operation, OHL will improve its balance sheet structure since, thanks to this transaction, the company will extend the maturities of its bonds to 2025 and 2026, reduce its leverage by more than €105 million and strengthen its equity by between €148 and €177 million, depending on the demand for capital increases”.
Luis Amodio also highlighted “the Amodio family’s firm commitment to OHL, indicating that “they are reference shareholders and long-term investors” for the company. He also emphasized that “OHL is positioned to begin a new phase in 2021; a phase that will allow it to establish the pillars of its future growth”.
For his part, CEO José Antonio Fernández Gallar, indicated in his speech that the transaction will involve “a renegotiation of terms for the bonds”, through a combination of debt reduction, capitalization of part of the bonds by means of a capital increase through the offsetting of credits at a price per share of €0.74 and the exchange of the remaining bonds for newly-issued covered bonds with a later maturity date.
The company’s CEO also mentioned that a corporate restructuring and an injection of equity will be carried out through a capital increase with preferential subscription rights in the amount of 35 million. This operation will be complemented by a second capital increase through a private placement aimed at the Amodio family and Tyrus Capital to cover their investment commitments of €37 and €5 million, respectively, in the amounts that they had not have been able to pay in the first capital increase.
Transaction Schedule
According to the estimated schedule detailed at the Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting, the restructuring operation is expected to be implemented next May.
Business Plan
José Antonio Fernández Gallar emphasized in his speech that after undertaking a series of structural changes over the last three years, this operation approved by the shareholders will allow OHL “to face its business plan with the maximum guarantees, confirming the commitment of the company and its management team to return to the path of growth”.
From left to right, Luis Amodio, President of OHL, and José Antonio Fernández Gallar, CEO.