Charlton Athletic Seek Bond Issue

Following the end of any talks on a possible takeover, Charlton Athletic has announced that it is seeking approval from shareholders to raise up to £20m through the issue of a new convertible bond. Shareholders will be asked to approve the issue of up to 66,666,857 convertible secured corporate bonds, each having a value of 30p. Some £14m of the proposed issue has already been unwritten by five existing Charlton directors. The sum raised will be used to repay recent loans made by directors to support the club following relegation from the Premiership and to provide working capital during the remainder of the season. The board wants to reduce its reliance on short-term loans and bank overdraft, and replace them with long-term debt that will be converted to equity at a later date. The amount raised is not intended to be used for player acquisitions.