RE: Please7 May 2021 09:09
announced below, will no longer be convertible, there will be no interest convertible to shares at 48p, as announced on 23 June 2020.
Under the amended terms agreed between the Company, SFN and Mr Falih Nahab, interest payable on the existing and future loans will, from 1 January 2021, be charged at a reduced rate of 3% over LIBOR and new interest accrued as from 1 July 2020 will no longer be convertible into Ordinary Shares, so that the maximum number of shares which might be issued as a result of conversion of the interest on the loans has been fixed at 30 June 2020.
In addition, the existing facilities, amounting to €64.9 million (excluding interest), and the date when the loans become repayable have now been extended from 31 December 2021 to 31 December 2025. The right to convert the interest outstanding at 30 June 2020 has been extended to 31 December 2031. As stated previously, the undrawn portions of the loan facilities are expected to allow the Company to satisfy its working capital needs until at least June 2021.
Mr Falih Nahab has also agreed that, unless otherwise requested by the Company or as a result of institutional demand for the Ordinary Shares, he will limit the annual conversion of interest accrued up to 30 June 2020 into Ordinary Shares, so that no more than 42 million Ordinary Shares per calendar year will be issued as a result of the conversion of the loans. Proceeds from any sale of Ordinary Shares by SFN and Mr Falih Nahab will continue to be used to provide further financing for the Company as previously announced.
The Company's board of directors recognises that the long term preparedness of Mr. Falih Nahab and SFN to provide financing for the Company´s operations and development programme has contributed vitally to the high level of focus in advancing its hydrogen related technology to its current stage and that the above mentioned measures serve to further alleviate the Company´s cost structure and to improve the balance sheet situation.
The change to the interest rate payable on the loans will serve to substantially lower Proton´s interest charge burden. The Company's board of directors believes that the extension of the existing facilities to the end of 2025 will allow the Company to pursue with confidence the many opportunities that the Company has in addition to those which the board believes will become available as a result of the German Government's National Hydrogen Strategy, including €7.0 billion to be allocated to the German hydrogen sector as contained in the German economic stimulus package passed in June 2020, the UK Government's forthcoming energy white paper and also EU initiatives such as the European Alliance for Green Hydrogen.