Malin eyes €70m EIB debt facility revamp

DUBLIN-BASED life sciences investment firm Malin is in talks with the European Investment Bank to secure a “more optimally structured” debt facility, according to chairman Donal O’Connor.

Malin secured a seven-year,

€70m debt facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB) in 2016.

By June that year, €40m of the funds had already been used by Malin to invest in life sciences firms in Ireland.

Of the facility, €30m was earmarked for investment in the UK, but no further funds from that facility have yet been drawn down by Malin.

Malin, which has investments in a number of early-stage and mature life sciences companies, had a total portfolio value of

€401m at the end of December, as well as €45m in cash.

But it raised €28m in equity in January to shore up its balance sheet, and is now progressing talks with the EIB to restructure its loan with the bank.

“We are engaged with the EIB with regard to a possible amendment of the terms of our debt facility to better align its structure with our business needs,” Malin noted in its annual report published yesterday.

Malin, whose CEO is Adrian Howd, said that several of its investee firms have made “meaningful progress” in 2017.

Malin said that under the terms of its EIB debt facility, it’s required to pay a 0.1pc non-utilisation fee on any undrawn facility, from December 22 last year.

The loan agreement also requires a Malin subsidiary to maintain a minimum cash balance of €25m.

A debt covenant with the EIB requires that the ratio of total fair value investments plus cash and qualifying liquidity to debt, should at no time fall below 4:1.