INA.v / IONAF-- This is good news, no PP offering, as some on I-Village were speculating.... It will fund their other big developments (i.e., beyond Huntington share of revenues) over next few years... Leaked news of this is surely what was driving INA.v back up in recent days....
Iona Energy Announces Successful Completion of USD 275 Million Senior Secured Callable Bond
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Sept. 17, 2013) – [after-market]
Iona Energy Inc. ("Iona" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:INA), is pleased to announce the successful placing of a USD 275 million senior secured bond (the "Bond") issued by its UK subsidiary Iona Energy Company (UK) Limited (the "Issuer").
The net proceeds from the Bond issue will be used to refinance the Senior Secured Borrowing Base Facility (the "BBF") of which approximately USD 143 million is outstanding and to retire all or parts of its existing structured energy derivative transaction ("Structured Derivative Transaction"). Additional proceeds of the Bond issue are expected to enable the Company to fund the delivery of its key development projects Orlando and Kells to first oil. The Bond will provide the Company with enhanced financial flexibility through improved access to cash flow from its producing assets, Huntington and Trent & Tyne, and increased debt financing for its upcoming development expenditures, while offering general terms and conditions which are less restrictive than those of the BBF.
The Bond, which has a tenor of five years, carries an interest coupon of 9.5% payable semi-annually and will be issued at 97.5% of par. The amortization profile is tailor made to match the cash flow profile of Iona's existing asset base and is structured to enable Iona to bring Orlando, its next significant development project, on stream before commencing amortization payments. Commencing 30 months after the Settlement Date, the Bond will amortize 15% of the issue amount every six months with a 25% final payment at maturity. The amortizations will be performed at the prevailing call option prices of 105%, 104%, 104%, 103% and 103% of par value with the residual amount payable at 102% of par value. The Bond is callable at the option of the Issuer at any time.
The Bond has the usual comprehensive security package including a charge over all main assets of the Issuer including its interest in the Huntington, Trent & Tyne, Orlando and Kells fields and the shares of the Issuer and its wholly owned subsidiary Iona UK Huntington Limited, as well as a parent company guarantee. The settlement date for the Bond is expected to be September 27th, 2013 (the "Settlement Date") and is subject to final completion and execution of standard documentation. The Bond is governed under Norwegian Law and the trustee for the Bond is Norsk Tillitsmann ASA.
Neill Carson, Iona's CEO commented: "Following a ramp-up period the Huntington field reached full production capacity of 30,000 bbls/d and 27 MMcf/d in early September. With this important milestone in place the next vital step in the further development of Iona was to secure improved flexibility in its financing for the operated field development projects Orlando and Kells, which are expected to commence production in 2015 and 2016 respectively. With the successful closing of the USD 275 million Bond issue, the Company believes it is fully financed for the development of these key projects which are expected to lead to a ramp-up in production to 17,000 boe/d by year end 2016, representing more than a doubling of Iona's existing production. We are very pleased with the reception of Iona in the international bond market; through the Bond, Iona will be able to access cash flow from our producing assets and redeploy this cash flow into new projects in line with our strategy creating a self-financed and repeatable business model."
Pareto Securities acted as Sole Manager and Bookrunner of the Bond Issue
