Lloyd's List - Finance - TOP Ships secures loan extension

Evangelos Pistiolis-led TOP has been striving to improve liquidity this year.

Greek owner?s deal with Laurasia backs liquidity drive

TOP Ships, the Nasdaq-listed tanker and bulk carrier owner, has agreed terms with Marshall Islands-registered lender Laurasia Trading to extend the payback date for two bridge loans totalling $4m.

Under the amendment, which TOP said should be finalised by early next week, the due date will be extended by a year to August 15, 2013.

As part of the deal, the lender has been assigned a charter termination of $4,039 per day and has agreed to reduce the principal amount outstanding under the loans to nearly $3.3m.

Greece-based TOP will pay Laurasia?s fees and expenses, the company said in a filing with US market regulators.

The owner entered into the first of the bridge loans in 2010 to refinance part of a DVB loan that topped up an existing $80m facility that allowed TOP to take delivery of a newbuilding product tanker.

A second unsecured bridge loan for $2m was agreed between the parties last year.

Both loans can be repaid by a combination of cash and shares to be decided by the lender, with a debt conversion price of $4 per share.

However, the company?s share has been trading below $2 for the last few months.

Evangelos Pistiolis-led TOP has been striving to improve liquidity this year by slashing expenses including management fees. It has been in talks with other lender, aiming to extend repayment of part of its debt.

The company has an owned fleet of six 2009-built product tankers, all under long-term bareboat charters, and a 2002-built supramax bulker.

Source: http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/sector/finance/article405398.ece

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