For businesses, every crisis, big or small, is a turning point; this is often not an end, but a new beginning.

After the March 2023 report was released, the debt burden and cash situation faced by Minimally Invasive Healthcare (00853) became a major concern for investors right now.

Meanwhile, on the evening of April 5, Minimally Invasive Healthcare issued an announcement announcing that the 448 million US dollar convertible bonds will expire in June. The company signed convertible financing agreements with Gao Lin Capital and other lenders, obtained a total of 150 million US dollars in convertible term loan financing, and is expected to receive more than 300 million US dollars in credit support from financial institutions. Debt concerns have been properly handled for the time being.

Debt concerns have been alleviated, and the goal is to reduce losses and profits

The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to the company's announcement, Gao Lin Capital (former lender) agreed to provide the company with a total term loan capital of 150 million US dollars, with an annual interest rate of 5.75%. At the same time, it also has the flexible option to further increase the total principal amount of no more than 50 million US dollars.

If all flexible options are exercised, the total loan principal amount will reach US$200 million, and the final repayment date will be 60 months from the date of first use.

At the same time, Minimally Invasive Healthcare is also actively communicating with many financial institutions and is expected to receive credit support of more than 300 million US dollars from financial institutions to repay all outstanding amounts of the 2026 convertible bonds.

As of the end of 2023, the company's cash on book was US$1,019 million. In the short term, the current plan can immediately ease the debt repayment pressure faced by the company.

Looking at the medium to long term, this loan also comes with corresponding conditions. It is required that within a certain schedule, the company gradually achieves a specific action plan to reduce losses or even profits. The specific action plans for subsequent loss reduction and profit are yet to be determined by the company after communicating with various investors.

It is worth mentioning that the original lenders in this plan also included Jumbo Glorious (wholly owned by Chang Zhaohua, founder of Minimally Invasive Healthcare). Some industry insiders said that as the goal of a binding and anti-gambling mechanism, this plan will inevitably push the company to reduce costs and increase efficiency, focus on the main track, and improve management standards. At the same time, this is also the management's response to previous market concerns about the company, that is, whether it can actually make up its mind to take action aimed at reducing losses and profits.

A signal of confidence has been released, and the future is expected to usher in a turning point

As we all know, with nearly 20 years of development experience, Gao Lin Investment has cooperated with companies in various industries to establish cooperation with sustainable and forward-thinking companies in the healthcare, corporate services, consumer and industrial sectors to build diversified asset management portfolios with long-term value creation as the core.

Regarding timely assistance in this transaction, some industry insiders said that as a long-term partner and supporter of minimally invasive medicine, Gao Lin Capital not only ensured the short-term liquidity needs of minimally invasive medical care, but also provided a financial foundation for its long-term development.

Today, in an overall situation where the restructuring of the domestic medical industry and the global supply of some products are facing many challenges, Gao Lin Capital's initiative also sends a signal to the outside world: even in difficult times, there are investment institutions that are willing to stand up, support enterprises with potential and vision, and become a strong backing for enterprises.

For Minimally Invasive, the resolution of the debt burden is also expected to be a turning point and an opportunity for the Jedi to fight back.

Judging from the annual report performance, according to the Zhitong Finance App, we learned that in 2023, the company's various businesses achieved good growth. Among them, excluding exchange rate effects, along with the brand effect brought about by matrix overseas, overseas business revenue increased 53.9% year on year; revenue from the heart valve, aortic and peripheral vascular intervention business all grew by more than 30%, and the surgical robot business revenue increased 258.4% year on year to achieve rapid release.

In the current context of increasing uncertainty in the global economy, Gao Lin invested a large amount of money to support minimally invasive medicine, which is based on in-depth analysis and long-term evaluation of its innovation capabilities, product lines, and global market potential. It is also a strong proof of its confidence in the Chinese medical equipment industry.

However, with the continuous consolidation of the company's dominant market position and the gradual implementation of cost reduction and efficiency measures, the future performance of minimally invasive healthcare, which is a leading segment in many fields, is worth looking forward to, and the company's future schedule progress in terms of loss reduction and profit is worth paying attention to.