The board of Bulgarian lead-acid battery manufacturer Monbat has given the go-ahead for the firm to issue seven-year corporate bonds worth up to EUR30 million ($35.4m).
Monbat told Bulgaria’s Financial Supervision Commission that the decision, made on 10 October, will see the company issue up to 30,000 bonds with a nominal value of EUR1,000 each.
Monbat said the move aims to underpin future investment plans— and follows a clutch of deals the acquisitive company has made in recent months as it expands the Sofia-based business.
The battery maker said last month that it was acquiring Italian battery recycling company Piombifera Italiana in Brescia for an undisclosed sum in light of “the increased demand for raw materials for the production of lead batteries”.
The Italian acquisition followed Monbat’s move into the lithium-ion business during the summer with the acquisition of German peers Gaia Akkumulatorenwerke and EAS Germany in the summer.
Monbat was founded in 1959, privatised in 1998 and is now a leading European battery producer. The company has production and recycling plants in three countries and exports to more than 60 countries. Monbat’s consolidated turnover and EBITDA for 2016 was EUR136m and EUR23m respectively.
