Today, the board of GOLDSTORY S.A.S. (the “Issuer”) and the Issuer’s shareholder approved a dividend payment of €110 million.
The dividend will be applied towards a €100 million distribution to the shareholders of Altastory S.A.S., the indirect ultimate parent of the Issuer (the “Parent”), and a repurchase by the Parent of €10 million in aggregate value, including principal amount and accrued interest, of its bonds issued on February 26, 2021 (the “Vendor Bonds”).
In connection with the distribution to the Parent’s shareholders, the Parent and the subscribers of the Vendor Bonds have agreed to amend the terms of the Vendor Bonds to provide that a total shareholder distribution of €125 million (including the €100 million distributed today) will be permitted in exchange for an undertaking by the Parent to repurchase a total of €60 million in aggregate value, including principal amount and accrued interest, of its Vendor Bonds (including the €10 million repurchase made today, a €20 million repurchase expected on September 8, 2022 and a €30 million repurchase expected between February 28, 2023 and March 31, 2023). In the event that the Parent does not have sufficient cash on hand to make any portion of such remaining repurchases (the “Missed Repurchases”), its shareholders have undertaken to acquire from the subscribers Vendor Bonds in an amount corresponding to the value the Missed Repurchases.
There is no assurance that the Parent will have enough cash on hand to complete the anticipated Vendor Bonds repurchases and any additional dividends from the Issuer will be subject to compliance with the terms of the Issuer’s finance documents.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may include forward looking statements. These forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, including the terms “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “should” or “will” or, in each case, their negative, or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts and include statements regarding the Issuer’s intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the Issuer’s results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the industry in which it operates. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Readers are cautioned that forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that the Issuer’s actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which it operates may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward looking statements contained in this press release. In addition, even if the Issuer’s results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which the Issuer operates are consistent with the forward looking statements contained in this press release, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.
About THOM
We are a leading European jewelry retailer by number of stores, with a strong position in Europe in the affordable jewelry sector. Our product offering comprises primarily precious jewelry, complemented by watches and costume jewelry. We are active primarily in France and Italy, where we hold a leading market position in each national market. Our products are available through our network of 1,024 directly operated stores and 65 corners, including 551 stores and wedding fairs in France as well as 40 corners (including one store in Monaco), 390 stores in Italy, 52 stores in Germany, 26 stores and wedding fairs in Belgium as well as 2 corners, 3 stores and 23 corners in Spain and 2 stores in Luxembourg as of March 31, 2021, as well as 6 e-commerce platforms in France and Belgium (histoiredor.com and marc-orian.com), Italy (stroilioro.com) and Germany (orovivo.de). We also have 32 affiliated partner stores in France.
We sell our products under our six complementary main banners: Histoire d’Or (393 stores), Stroili (339 stores), Agatha (36 stores and 65 corners), Marc Orian (91 stores), TrésOr (67 stores), OROVIVO (521 stores) and Franco Gioielli (37 stores). We also operate, in France, 9 additional stores under the Smizze banner.
Contact
For further information, please contact:
Carole Danel
Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 52 76 35
E-mail: investorrelations@thomgroup.com