Extension of investor loan

RNS Number : 4146J

Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd

09 April 2020

 

9 April 2020

Chaarat Gold Holdings Limited

("Chaarat" or the "Company")

Extension of investor loan

Chaarat (AIM:CGH), the AIM-quoted gold mining company with assets in the Kyrgyz Republic and Armenia is pleased to announce the extension of the maturity date of the US$17 million loan and accrued interest of c.US$2.4 million originally announced on 15 November 2018 (RNS 4076H) (the "Loan").

The Company has agreed terms with the provider of the Loan (the "Lender") to extend the maturity date of the Loan from 31 March 2020 to 31 December 2020 and to maintain the existing interest charge of 13% payable at maturity.  The key terms of the Loan are summarised in the appendix. A fee of 150 basis points of the Loan will be paid in cash to the Lender at closing.

Labro Investments Limited ("Labro"), the majority of shares in which Chaarat's Executive Chairman is indirectly interested, is the Company's largest shareholder with a shareholding of approximately 35.15%.  Labro has agreed to extend and increase the associated existing security package it has provided to the Lender beyond that announced on 11 September 2019 (RNS 8933L) .  Chaarat is in advanced discussions to agree terms with Labro to compensate it for providing this extended and increased security package to the Lender.

Artem Volynets, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"We are pleased to announce the extension of the loan agreement and support provided to Chaarat. At the moment, it is hard to predict when the current challenging market environment will normalise, and we are delighted to see such strong support from our debt investor and our largest shareholder.

Enquiries
Chaarat Gold Holdings Limited	[phone]
Artem Volynets (CEO)	[e-mail]
Numis Securities Limited	[phone]
John Prior, Paul Gillam (NOMAD)
James Black (Corporate Broking)
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP	+ 44 (0) 20 3470 0470
Ewan Leggat (Joint Broker)
finnCap Limited	[phone]
Scott Mathieson (Joint Broker)
Camille Gochez (Joint Broker)

About Chaarat

Chaarat is a gold mining company which owns the Kapan operating mine in Armenia as well as Tulkubash and Kyzyltash Gold Projects in the Kyrgyz Republic. The Company has a clear strategy to build a leading emerging markets gold company with an initial focus on Central Asia and the FSU through organic growth and selective M&A.

Chaarat is engaged in active community engagement programmes to optimise the value of the Chaarat investment proposition.

Chaarat aims to create value for its shareholders, employees and communities from its high-quality gold and mineral deposits by building relationships based on trust and operating to the best environmental, social and employment standards. Further information is available at  www.chaarat.com .

Appendix

Summary of the key terms of the Loan

1.	Principal - US$19.4 million (includes accrued interest).
2.	Interest - 13% per annum payable at maturity.
3.	Maturity date - 31 December 2020.  If Chaarat pre-pays not less than US$5 million within 45 days of closing, the maturity date will be extended by a further 3 months to 31 March 2021.
4.	Extension fee - 150 basis points.
5.	Kapan:
	(a)	Chaarat is granting a second-ranking charge over Chaarat Gold International Limited which owns the Kapan mine operating subsidiary.
	(b)	50% of any new debt raised in respect of Kapan, net of such existing debt of Kapan as is refinanced, must be used to prepay the Loan.
6.	Other security - Labro is providing an extended and additional security package directly to the Lender including a personal guarantee from Chaarat's Executive Chairman.
7.	Timing of closing - On perfection of the additional security being provided by Chaarat and the extended and additional security being provided.
8.	Lender conversion rights - The Lender has the right to convert up to US$5 million of the Loan into Chaarat shares at the same price as any other Chaarat equity issuances for a period of 45 days or, if none, at 25p, after which this amount will decrease to US$2.5 million. A holding period of 12 months applies to any Chaarat shares arising on conversion of any part of the Loan.

 

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