Britain's Ocado moves to extend its debt maturities
LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) -Ocado, the British online supermarket and technology group, is extending the maturity of its debt by raising 600 million pounds ($771 million) in bonds due for 2029 repayment to finance a tender offer of existing bonds due in earlier years.
The group said on Monday it had launched an offering of 250 million pounds of guaranteed senior unsecured convertible bonds due 2029 and would also offer 350 million pounds of sterling-denominated senior unsecured notes due in the same year.
Ocado OCDO.L has also invited holders of its outstanding 0.875% senior unsecured convertible bonds due 2025 and 3.875% senior unsecured notes due 2026 to tender those securities.
It said net proceeds from the new bond issues, together with cash from its balance sheet if needed, would be used to fund the tender offer.
"An appropriate financing policy and sufficient liquidity position continue to be an important foundation to enable investment in Ocado's growth plans while maintaining a healthy financial profile," the group said.
Earlier this month, Ocado raised its margin guidance for the 2023/24 year and CEO Tim Steiner said the group did not need to raise additional capital, pointing to liquidity of over 1 billion pounds.
Ocado shares have lost over half their value over the last year, but Steiner said he was not concerned investors were losing confidence in the company's business model, arguing the global shift to online grocery shopping had resumed.
($1 = 0.7784 pounds)
Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Mark Potter
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