Afirma shares rise by 30% on hopes of debt refinancing

Shares in Afirma, the Spanish property company formerly known as Astroc, soared by as much as 30% to EUR 1.73 on Tuesday on hopes the company would successfully refinance EUR 667mln worth of debt this month. The rise compounds share price gains of over 50% by Afirma on Monday. In a statement to the Spanish stock market regulator after the marked closed on Monday, Afirma said it had no explanation for the share price advance.

'We are currently in the process of refinancing our debt aimed at reaching a new long-term contract,' the company said to the CNMV. The company added it hoped to conclude the refinancing process by the end of June.

Afirma is the company resulting from 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.