Aoyuan

Jul 3, 2023

(Yicai Global) July 3 -- Debt-ridden property developer China Aoyuan Group has reached an agreement with creditors holding about 33 percent of its outstanding offshore debt on the key commercial terms of a debt restructuring plan. With the proposed restructuring, Aoyuan aims to obtain a sustainable capital structure to address the industry-wide challenges in the immediate to medium term and deliver long-term value for all stakeholders, the Guangzhou-based company announced on July 2. However, Aoyuan’s debt restructuring plan needs to be approved by a majority of creditors, representing at least 75 percent in value of the creditors who are present and voting at the scheme meeting, the firm said. Under the terms of the restructuring plan, Aoyuan’s unit Add Hero Holdings will issue three series of new debt instruments worth a total of USD1.8 billion, with annual interest rates of 7.5 percent to 8.8 percent, the parent company noted. The first series will start amortizing from September 2026, and the last will mature in September 2031. Aoyuan will also issue USD500 million notes with an interest rate of 5.5 percent, expected to mature in September 2031, and USD143 million new zero-coupon mandatory convertible bonds, which will be converted into ordinary shares in September 2028, representing 29.9 percent of the total issued share capital of the company after the restructuring, it added. Moreover, Aoyuan will transfer 1 billion newly issued ordinary shares and 400 million shares owned by its founder and Chairman Guo Ziwen to some eligible creditors. The shares represent 25.2 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively, of the company’s total after the restructuring, Aoyuan pointed out. Finally, the property developer will issue USD1.6 billion new perpetual securities with a cash distribution rate of no less than 1 percent per year after September 2031, Aoyuan said. As of the end of last year, Aoyuan had offshore total interest-bearing liabilities of about CNY42.8 billion and onshore interest-bearing liabilities of approximately CNY66.2 billion. Aoyuan had 267 property development projects with a total gross floor area of about 30.8 million square meters as of Dec. 31. The total unlevered free cash flow generated from the above projects over the next 10 years is expected to be approximately CNY64.3 billion (USD8.9 billion). Aoyuan said its property sales totaled about CNY7.5 billion (USD1 billion) in the first half of the year, with sales and average prices steadily increasing. Editor: Futura Costaglione