Afirma, the Spanish property company formerly known as Astroc, said on Friday that it had signed a refinancing agreement for EUR 754mln of debt. The company's shares rose by almost 10% in Madrid trading following the announcement. In a statement to the stock market regulator CNMV, Afirma said that it had postponed the payment of the first tranche of the debt facility until December 2010, with the final payment due by December 2013.
Afirma, the Spanish property company formerly known as Astroc, said on Friday that it had signed a refinancing agreement for EUR 754mln of debt. The company's shares rose by almost 10% in Madrid trading following the announcement. In a statement to the stock market regulator CNMV, Afirma said that it had postponed the payment of the first tranche of the debt facility until December 2010, with the final payment due by December 2013.
Afirma's shares soared by as much as 104% last week on hopes that the company would successfully refinance its debt. Afirma was formed following a merger earlier this year between Astroc, Landscape and Rayet. The change in name came as a response to Astroc's need to rebrand and relaunch itself in the current year. Astroc, which went public in May 2006, saw its share price skyrocket to over EUR 70 per share in February 2007. However, speculation about Astroc's financial position in April led to a 70% drop in the company's share price and triggered a massive sell-off of Spanish property shares.
