Mizzi Organisation launches Lm5m bond issue

Mizzi Organisation Finance plc yesterday launched a public bond offering of Lm5 million at 6.7 per cent interest, payable in arrears every six months.

Each bond has a nominal value of Lm100. Subscriptions open on Thursday and the offer closes on May 31, or earlier at the company`s discretion, Mizzi Organisation chairman John Grech said.

The bonds are due for redemption on May 31, 2012 but the company reserves the right to redeem all or part of the issue on the seventh, eighth or ninth anniversaries.

The bond application lists open on Thursday at 8 a.m. and the organisation has already filed an application with the Malta Stock Exchange to have the bonds admitted on the official list.

During the launch at the Waterfront Hotel, in Sliema yesterday, Dr Grech described Mizzi Organisation as one of the longest established businesses in Malta.

Built on household names, it was one of the most diversified businesses in Malta, with over 700 employees and a turnover that exceeded Lm43 million in 2001.

Dr Grech said the organisation was the market leader in a number of sectors, including the automotive, tourism, leisure, beverage, retail, contracting and real estate industries.

He said the launch of the bond issue was a historic step in the company`s organisational development, an important part of its restructuring and a sign that it was capable of adapting to change.

Bank of Valletta plc has fully underwritten the bond issue and the bank is also acting as manager and registrar. The sponsoring stockbroker is Vincent J. Rizzo of Rizzo Farrugia & Co. Stockbrokers Ltd. The auditors and reporting accountants are PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Camilleri Preziosi are legal counsel.

The bonds are being sold through licensed stockbrokers and financial intermediaries from whom application forms and copies of the offering memorandum may be obtained.