Maple Leaf Education (01317) announced that on January 24, 2024, CIS Pte Ltd (as the borrower), an indirect subsidiary of the company, signed a bridging term loan financing agreement with the lender. The lender agreed to provide transition financing totaling no more than S$300 million. The final maturity date is six months from the date of use. The transitional financing can be extended for up to six months after approval by each lender. Proceeds from the transition financing will be used to refinance all of the Group's existing debts (including outstanding amounts under or relating to the 2022 term loan financing agreement), pay the costs and expenses associated with the transition finance, and redeem all convertible bonds.
A bridging term loan financing agreement imposes specific performance responsibilities on the company's controlling shareholders. As of the date of this announcement, Mr. Ren Shuliang and Sherman Investment Holdings Limited (indirectly wholly owned by a discretionary trust founded by Mr. Ren Shuliang (who can influence how the trustee exercises its discretion) were controlling shareholders, and they held or were treated as holding interests in approximately 1,585 billion shares and approximately 1,484 billion shares respectively (equivalent to approximately 52.92% and 49.53% of the total issued share capital of the company, respectively).