Meeting Called On Loans To Gcm

The Age

Saturday February 14, 1998

Barry FitzGerald

Great Central Mines shareholders meet next month to clear the way for a curious refinancing of its Eagle Mining and Wiluna Mines acquisitions.

The meeting on 6 March will be asked to approve resolutions to allow Eagle (wholly owned) and Wiluna (in the compulsory acquisition phase) to give guarantees and indemnities for the refinancing.

Shareholder approval is required because Eagle and Wiluna may be providing "financial assistance" in connection with the acquisition of their own shares.

The bids were financed by a $155 million loan facility from Normandy Mining and a $140 million cash advance and gold loan facility from Chase Manhattan.

Great Central said its refinancing plans involved a proposed $US250 million ($A371.4 million) 10-year unsecured note issue and a proposed $A175 million syndicated unsecured credit facility.

The Normandy Mining facility was provided on the basis that it could move to 25 per cent of the company without having to bid for the rest.

That deal included Normandy first taking up to a 10 per cent placement of Great Central shares at $2.45 a share. The loan was said to have been repayable in cash and/or shares, moving Normandy to 25 per cent if it took the shares. As it is, Normandy has moved to 19 per cent through market purchases.

© 1998 The Age

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