- Release Date: 16/07/13 14:26
- Summary: GENERAL: GFL: Geneva Announces $30m Funding Facility and Exit Moratorium
- Price Sensitive: No
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GFL 16/07/2013 12:26 GENERAL REL: 1226 HRS GFNZ Group Limited GENERAL: GFL: Geneva Announces $30m Funding Facility and Exit Moratorium Media Release 16 July 2013 GFNZ GROUP LTD (GENEVA) ANNOUNCES $30M FUNDING FACILITY FOR ITS NEW BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND EXIT FROM MORATORIUM NZAX-listed auto loan provider GFNZ Group Ltd (Geneva) announced that it has completed negotiations for a series of funding transactions that on drawdown will generate $27.5m, and these funds, in conjunction with cash on hand will allow the repayment of all exiting outstanding debt facilities, including all public debenture holders, its banking facility with BOS International (Australia) Limited and the professional funding raised in June 12, August 12 and January 13. There are three components to the funding package: 1. Westpac have approved a $30m securitized debt facility that will be used to fund the "new business" receivables. On settlement, approximately $23.5m of these receivables will be transferred to the securitized trust. Shareholder approval is required for this transfer. This facility is expected to be drawn to $17.5m on settlement. 2. A group of professional investors, including two non-executive directors of Geneva have agreed to provide a $5.0m debt facility to fund the operations of Stellar Collections Ltd, the group's debt collections business. Shareholder approval is required for the directors' loans. 3. Federal Pacific Group Ltd (Fedpac), the major shareholder who owns 33% of Geneva has committed to provide a $5m unsecured loan to the Group's parent company, GFNZ Group Ltd. This loan requires shareholder approval. As a result, on 1 August 2013, all outstanding debt with public debenture holders, BOS International (Australia) Limited and the professional investor funding will be repaid. Once these payments have been made, Geneva will formally exit the moratorium entered into on 5 November 2007. Managing Director, David O'Connell, says "This transaction is the culmination of nearly six years hard work. When we began this journey in 2007, no one had heard of the Global Financial Crisis and no one forecast one of the worst recessions in New Zealand's history. Achieving the goal of exiting moratorium is very satisfying, and a testament to the determination and hard work of the Geneva board and management team. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our loyal investors for their continued support since we entered moratorium on November 2007." Contemporaneously with the above, the Group will be formally restructured into the four trading entities which will further improve transparency of reporting. These transactions similarly require shareholder approval. The directors have called for a meeting of shareholders to be held on 31st July to approve three resolutions being: Resolution 1: Approve a proposal to restructure Geneva's business operations including the transfer of the "new business" model receivables assets to the securitised trust. Resolution 2: Approve the proposed loan from Fedpac. Resolution 3: Approve the proposed loans from the non executive directors. Since November 2007, inclusive of this payment Geneva will have repaid a total of $169m of principal and interest to investors including $107.4m to public debenture holders who received at an average rate of 11.1%. Other key achievements during this period include: o Reduced total assets from $172m to $44m; o Reduced Head count from 325 staff to 35 staff and reduced operating cost by in excess of $30m p.a.; o Developed a "new business" lending model that focuses on a lower risk market segment, that is profitable but requires on going, sustainable and affordable funding to allow it to expand; o Attracted a corner stone shareholder, Federal Pacific Group Ltd, who has contributed $2.8m of equity to date and who under this proposal will provided a further $5m of unsecured funding. In terms of the future, David O'Connell says, "Having secured sustainable funding, Geneva is poised to move out of the debt repayment phase of its history and the focus now turns to creating shareholder value. Make no mistake, in the current market it will be difficult, however given our achievements to date, we have a real determination to build on this transaction and pursue this goal with the same determination" ends About Geneva Geneva is a New Zealand-owned finance company that provides finance and financial services to the consumer credit and small to medium business markets. Geneva commenced business on 7 October 2002. Geneva's loans are originated through three distribution channels (Direct, Broker and Dealer), processed by the central sales desk then administered through a national operations centre located at Mt Wellington, Auckland. The company borrows money by the issue of debenture stock. Geneva (GFL) is listed on the NZAX. There are 280,872,249 issued shares held by 2,613 investors. About Federal Pacific FedPac's operations throughout the Pacific region include investments in Banking, Personal and Business Finance, Money Transfer and Foreign Exchange Trading. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is based in Auckland, New Zealand. Alexander Communications Kate Alexander +64 (0)27 244 6094 [email protected] End CA:00238637 For:GFL Type:GENERAL Time:2013-07-16 12:26:55
Ann: GENERAL: GFL: Geneva Announces $30m Funding
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