East African Breweries Limited (EABL) said yesterday that it has made a 141 percent subscription rate for its 5-year corporate bond.
It added that investors have offered 8.45 billion shillings equivalent to 82 million dollars which is well above the 6 billion Kenya shillings it sought.
Gyorgy Geiszl, the group’s chief financial officer told Reuters that these funds will be used to restructure the balance sheet which entails the repayment of short term loans, replacing them with the medium term debt. The bond is the second tranche of an issue that was first offered to the market in 2015.
Geiszl added that the restructuring of the balance sheet would also help the group comply with the market regulator’s current asset ratio rules.
The bond has a fixed annual rate of 14.17 per cent, well above the current rate on the Kenyan 364-day Treasury bill of 10.914 per cent.
According to the chief financial officer Geiszl there are no immediate plans to raise more debts. But the firm will review the situation if need arises.
He said that numerous growth opportunities are seen in the countries that the company operates in. and if any of it materializes beyond the usual business and the level on investment then they will be able to reach out to the markets for funding.
Apart from its operations in Kenya, East African Breweries Limited(EABL) is a company that has also grown its roots in the neighboring countries; Uganda and Tanzania.
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Written by Amina Martha.