Shares in Lion Nathan rose by as much as 2.9% after the company said it had refinanced its existing debt facilities through securing $450 million of new debt funding.
This new funding will be used to refinance the 12 month bridge facility used to fund the acquisition of J Boag & Son ($325) million and finance a $60 million scheduled partial maturity of Lion Nathans' US Private Placement facility due in February 2008.
The new funding has a weighted average maturity of 4.3 years and was arranged by Lion Nathan within its existing Banking Group, the company said.
"Given the current volatility in financial markets, it is very pleasing to be able to arrange this funding from within our existing Banking Group. We tapped our relationship banks and we were pleased to receive offers well in excess of our funding requirement, at very attractive pricing," Chief financial officer Jamie Tomlinson said.
"Lion Nathan prides itself on its resilient earnings and cash flow and successfully arranging this funding once again demonstrates the strength and attractiveness of our business," he added.
In addition, the new facility will also supplement Lion Nathan's strong cash flow and enable the company to finance the planned capital expenditure in New Zealand as construction of Lion Nathan's new brewery commences in Auckland.
Shares in LNN finished 13 cents up at $9.47.
