Minor International launches strategy to raise Bt25 billion in capital
Minor International Public Co Ltd (MINT), a big player in the hospitality, restaurant and lifestyle industries, announced on Tuesday (May 19) that it was launching a comprehensive funding strategy to strengthen its capital base.
In line with its strategy to focus on cash preservation, liquidity and debt management, MINT's board of directors has approved a plan to raise Bt25 billion through various instruments, including perpetual bonds, rights offering and three-year warrants.
The strategy is subject to shareholders’ approval at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on June 19.
The company’s aim is to complete the capital raising programme by 2023, with plans to raise Bt10 billion from onshore/offshore equity-accounted perpetual bonds and another Bt10 billion through rights offerings within the third quarter of this year.
The company also aims to raise additional equity through warrants worth about Bt5 billion, which will be issued once the rights offering transaction is completed. These warrants will have a tenure of three years from the date of issue.
The warrants will be set at a premium of no more than 10 per cent of the market price in the early part of the third quarter. This share price will not be indicative of the future share price, but will act as a reward for MINT’s existing shareholders.
Details of the rights offering and warrant issuance will be provided in the company's disclosure to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
In the first quarter of 2020, MINT reported a net loss of Bt1,774 million due to the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its three businesses, together with an unfavourable impact from the new accounting standard on leases.
In the second quarter, MINT’s financial performance will be further impacted due to the temporary closure of hotels and restaurants since March.
However, as cities from Madrid to Bangkok cautiously start lifting lockdown measures, MINT is preparing to resume its operations in a world of the “new normal”.
In the long-term, MINT is streamlining its cost structure with the aim of improving efficiency while strengthening its digital capabilities.
“I am confident that this comprehensive capital-raising exercise will strengthen MINT’s ability to grow sustainably. We expect full support from our major shareholders, reflecting their belief in the future of MINT. A solid balance sheet will be the foundation for MINT to further build on its first-class quality assets to generate returns in the long term. Our interest-bearing-debt to equity ratio is expected to come back down to 1.3 times by the end of this year, significantly below the debt covenant of 1.75 times. On behalf of MINT's management team, we are excited to embark on this recovery path, and start building growth for the company again,” said Dillip Rajakarier, group CEO of Minor International.
Minor International has three core businesses: hospitality, restaurants and lifestyle brands distribution.
It has 529 hotels in its portfolio, including Anantara, Avani, Oaks, Tivoli, Marriott, Four Seasons, St Regis and Radisson Blu to name a few, and is one of Asia’s largest restaurant companies with over 2,300 outlets in 26 countries including The Pizza Company, The Coffee Club, Bonchon, Swensen's, Sizzler, Dairy Queen and Burger King etc.
It is also one of Thailand's largest distributors of lifestyle brands and contract manufacturers, covering brands such as Anello, Bodum, Bossini, Brooks Brothers, Charles & Keith and Minor Smart Kids among others.
