Independent News & Media has announced that 1,791,890,667 shares representing approximately 97.17 per cent of the total number of new ordinary shares offered in a recent rights issue have been subscribed.
Under the rights issue, existing shareholders were entitled to buy 59 new ordinary shares for every 50 ordinary shares owned at a price of €0.05 for a new ordinary share.
A total of 1,844,099,165 new ordinary shares were offered to shareholders in the rights issue, which closed yesterday.
Of the new ordinary shares subscribed for under the rights issue, 1,040,289,588 shares have been subscribed for in cash, raising in aggregate €52.01 million and 751,601,079 shares have been applied for by bondholders by application of part of the residual bond claim held by such bondholders.
The balance of 2.83 per cent of shares has been placed in the market and no remaining shares will be allocated to the underwriter, the group said.
"We are very pleased with the significant take-up of the rights issue and the significant support it has received from shareholders," said IN&M chief executive Gavin O'Reilly.
"This, combined with the completion of the company's asset disposal programme announced earlier this week, means that net debt has been reduced by approximately €350 million in 2009. With this new capital structure, the company looks forward to focusing solely on its operational performance and driving operating profit growth as economic conditions recover," he added.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/016623f1-a68b-427c-b57b-ea9950f2c2e4.png)