News GO subsidiary in Cyprus is first foreign registered company to issue and list bonds locally

Cablenet Communications Systems plc, a subsidiary in which GO holds a 60.26% share, is the first foreign registered company to have issued €40m worth of bonds locally which were listed on the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange on 21 August.

The bonds were distributed among a number of intermediaries and GO shareholders and employees. Cablenet entered into a pre-allocation agreement with a number of local financial intermediaries, whereby an aggregate amount of €32m worth of bonds were allocated. A further €8m were reserved for GO shareholders and employees. The offer to GO shareholders and employees was oversubscribed by over €2.9m

“It has been a remarkable experience, particularly given the current circumstances and the challenges brought about by the global pandemic,” said Nikhil Patil, CEO at GO plc.

“Once again, the Maltese market has shown its full confidence in us, our subsidiaries and our vision. I am very grateful, in particular to the team made up of legal and financial experts from Malta and Cyprus who worked round the clock, in extraordinary times, to make this another successful process,” he continued.

Commenting on the process, Yiannos Michaelidis, CEO at Cablenet said: “We are very proud to be the first company that has successfully completed a bond process and be listed on the Malta Stock Exchange. The overwhelming response to our offering is testament to the mutual trust between the Maltese and Cypriot markets. This certainly gives us the confidence to move forward with our ambitious work programme that is set to see us through our next phases of growth to bring additional value to our customers and shareholders.”

Cablenet’s network currently covers approximately 55% of households in Cyprus and offers super-fast broadband, multiple high definition TV channels and fixed telephony from a single connection. Coverage is being extended as part of a multi-year programme, which also includes ongoing improvements in systems and processes to retain the leading edge in the provision of converged telecom services on the market.

Most recently, Cablenet purchased its own mobile spectrum allowing it to commence the operation of its own mobile network. The company intends to leverage this transition to significantly enhance its market position in the mobile services market in the coming years, while at the same time reinforcing its position as a dominant broadband provider. This bond offering is expected to support further growth for Cablenet in the coming years.