(BFM Bourse) – The manufacturer of the artificial heart Aeson has reached an agreement with its creditors to extend the franchise on loans guaranteed by the State and postpone payment installments of a loan taken out from the European Investment Bank. Which allows the title to progress.
Carmat gives himself several months of respite. The manufacturer of the artificial heart Aeson announced on Monday that it had reached an agreement with its creditors to postpone several bank repayment deadlines.
In detail, the company has extended the franchises (a period during which a company does not repay a loan, often the principal and interest) of two state-guaranteed loans (PGE).
This franchise was extended by 24 months and, as a result, the final maturity of the PGE granted by BNP Paribas was postponed from October 27, 2026 to October 27, 2028. That of the PGE granted by Bpifrance was postponed to November 30, 2028 compared to 30 November 2026 previously.
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Deadline mid-May
Carmat has also finalized the agreement on the loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) of 30 million euros. Ultimately this agreement allows it to postpone the repayment deadlines for three tranches of the loan. The first goes from January 31, 2024 to July 31, 2026, the second from May 4, 2025 to August 4, 2027 and the third from October 29, 2026 to October 29, 2028.
To reduce the debt, Carmat will resort to an “equitization” operation. This mechanism consists of transforming the first tranche of the loan into Carmat shares and therefore avoiding repayment in cash. The company details the mechanics of this operation. The debt will be transferred to a management trust, created specifically for the needs of the operation. This structure will receive free share subscription warrants (i.e. BSAs). These BSAs will then be exercised by offsetting claims on the market by the trust.
The net proceeds from their sale would then be paid by the trust to the EIB until the sums owed to it under the first tranche of the loan have been fully reimbursed. This operation will also concern the other two tranches of the loan unless the EIB decides to waive it.
Carmat specifies that with all of these agreements announced this Monday, the group can finance its activity until mid-May. It also estimates its financing requirement over the next twelve months at 35 million euros.
A positive announcement
Consequently, Carmat is working hard to find measures that would allow it to extend its short-term financial horizon.
But for now, the stock is reacting well to these announcements. Carmat takes 5% on the Paris Stock Exchange shortly before 12 p.m.
For Degroof Petercam, this is “positive news which constitutes a first step in improving the financial visibility of the company”.
“Funding, however, remains a short-term concern as the company has less than two months of liquidity. We believe Aeson’s commercial success will be crucial to raising the additional €35 million needed over the next 12 months.” , develops the Belgian bank.
“Despite the lack of funding visibility, the fundamentals are strong. Management believes it has reached an inflection point with Aeson’s positive business momentum seen in the fourth quarter, which bodes well for 2024.” , adds Degroof Petercam.
The bank reiterated its purchase opinion and still continues to anticipate a sales peak for Aeson of 750 million euros on a monthly basis.
Julien Marion – ©2024 BFM Bourse
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