Baker Aryzta signs banks deal ahead of capital raising
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ZURICH, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Loss-making Swiss-Irish baking company Aryzta said on Tuesday it had struck a standby volume underwriting deal with five banks ahead of plans to raise 800 million euros ($928.48 million) in new capital needed to bolster its balance sheet.
Aryzta said the pact names BofA Merrill Lynch and UBS as process banks, and Credit Suisse, JP Morgan and HSBC Bank plc as joint global coordinators.
Aryzta announced the plan to raise new capital last month following a net loss of more than 1 billion euros in 2017.
The company, which makes Cuisine de France bread and burger buns for McDonald's restaurants, also said on Tuesday it had won the consent of a majority of its lenders to amend an existing facilities agreement as it seeks to cut debt by 1 billion euros.
Chief Executive Officer Kevin Toland is hoping to unload at least 450 million euros in assets, including its France-based Picard frozen food unit acquired during an ill-fated buying spree, with the balance of debt reduction coming from cash flow generation.
($1 = 0.8616 euros) (Reporting by John Miller; editing by Sunil Nair and Jason Neely)
