KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 25): Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s wholly-owned unit Measat Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd (MBNS) has secured a term loan facility of up to RM160 million from AmBank (M) Bhd.
The pay-TV provider said the facility will be used to finance and reimburse MBNS’ costs relating to the production, purchase and licensing of content, programmes or channels as well as its capital expenditure, including asset acquisition for broadcast and transmission and acquisition of software and platforms.
The facility will be repaid in full within 48 months from the date of the first drawdown, with the first instalment to commence within six months from that date, said Astro.
“The board of directors of Astro, after having considered all aspects of the facility, is of the opinion that the facility will facilitate Astro’s group borrowings to be managed more efficiently due to its competitive pricing and tenure,” the group said in a bourse filing.
As at July 31, 2023, Astro had short-term borrowings of RM682.5 million, while its long-term borrowing stood at RM2.55 billion. Its cash balances stood at RM120 million, according to its latest financial statement.
On Aug 14, MBNS secured a term loan facility of up to RM400 million from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp Malaysia Bhd (SMBC), mainly to refinance the existing term loan facility of RM380 million obtained from SMBC back in August 2018.
Astro shares closed 1.5 sen or 3.57% lower at 40.5 sen on Wednesday. The stock has fallen 37.69% year-to-date, valuing the group at RM2.09 billion.