Etrion Corporation Closes Books on Corporate Bond Refinancing

GENEVA, June 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Etrion Corporation (“Etrion” or the “Company”) (TSX:ETX) (OMX:ETX), a solar independent power producer, announces closing of books and issuance of a new senior secured bond (the “New Bond”) in the Nordic bond market of EUR 40 million, under a framework of a maximum amount of EUR 65 million. The Company’s holding of EUR 6.3 million in the existing bonds will be rolled-over into the New Bonds, which is included in the issued amount, and can be sold at a later date if additional funding is required.

The New Bond has an annual interest rate of 7.25% and a bullet maturity in May 2021. The Company intends to list the New Bond on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange Open Market within 30 days and the Oslo Stock Exchange within six months from the issue date.

The net proceeds from the New Bond will be used to refinance the Company’s existing EUR 40 million senior secured bond that pays 8.0% annual interest and matures in April 2019 with ISIN NO0010709272. The existing bonds have been called for redemption in accordance with their terms at a price of 101% of par plus accrued interest and will be redeemed on 17 July 2018.

Marco Antonio Northland, the Company’s CEO, commented, “I am pleased to have completed the refinancing of our corporate bond in order to extend the maturity and reduce the interest rate.  We received strong demand from Nordic investors with positive validation for our strategy to focus on Japan. The solar power market in Japan continues to deliver very strong economics returns with sustainable long-term growth enabling Etrion to deliver shareholder value in a socially responsible manner.”

Pareto Securities acted as financial adviser and sole manager for the bond issue. Advokatfirmaet Selmer DA acted as legal adviser to the sole manager, and Michelet & Co acted as legal adviser to Etrion.

About Etrion

Etrion Corporation is an independent power producer that develops, builds, owns and operates utility-scale solar power generation plants. The Company owns and operates 56.7 MW of solar capacity, all in Japan.  Etrion also has several projects in the backlog and pipeline at different stages of development in Japan. The Company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada and the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm exchange in Sweden under ticker symbol “ETX”. Etrion’s largest shareholder is the Lundin family, which owns approximately 36% of the Company’s shares directly and through various trusts.

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Etrion discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Swedish Securities Market Act. The information was submitted for publication at 15:00 CET on 1 June, 2018.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The information above is not intended for, and may not be distributed to or be published in, directly or indirectly, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, the United States, or any other jurisdiction where this would require registrations measures or would constitute a breach of law.

This press release is for information purposes only and does not contain or constitute an invitation or an offer to acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise trade in shares or other securities in the Company (the "Securities”). Nor does it constitute a prospectus under the terms in Directive 2003/71/EC.

No Securities are or will be registered in accordance with the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) or any provincial act in Canada or any legislation in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand or South Africa. The Securities may therefore not, directly or indirectly, be sold, resold, offered for sale, delivered or spread within or to any of these jurisdictions, or to any person located there at that point of time or resident there, or on account of such person, and further not to or within any other jurisdiction where such measure would violate the laws of the jurisdiction or require registrations measures, other than in accordance with an applicable exemption. A failure to comply with this instruction may result in a violation of the Securities Act or laws applicable in other jurisdictions.

Solely for the purposes of the manufacturer's (as used herein, "Manufacturer" refers to Pareto Securities AB) product approval process, the target market assessment in respect of the bonds issued in the Bond Offering (the "Bonds") has led to the conclusion that: (i) the target market for the Bonds is eligible counterparties, professional clients and retail clients, each as defined in Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, "MiFID II"); and (ii) all channels for distribution of the Bonds to eligible counterparties, professional clients and retail clients are appropriate.

Any person subsequently offering, selling or recommending the Bonds (a "Distributor") should take into consideration the Manufacturer's target market assessment; however, a Distributor subject to MiFID II is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the Bonds (by either adopting or refining the Manufacturer's target market assessment) and determining appropriate distribution channels.

As the Bonds are not deemed to fall within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the "PRIIPs Regulation"), no PRIIPs key information document (KID) has been prepared. For the avoidance of doubt, the target market assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of MiFID II; or (b) a recommendation to any investor or group of investors to invest in, or purchase, or take any other action whatsoever with respect to the Bonds.

Pareto Securities AB is acting for the Company and no one else in connection with the Bond Offering and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to the Bond Offering and/or any other matter referred to in this announcement. Pareto Securities AB accepts no responsibility whatsoever and make no representation or warranty, express or implied, for the contents of this announcement, including its accuracy, completeness or verification or for any other statement made or purported to be made by it, or on its behalf, in connection with the Bond Offering and nothing in this announcement is, or shall be relied upon as, a promise or representation in this respect, whether as to the past or future.

Forward-Looking Information:

This press release contains certain “forward-looking information”. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that Etrion believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements relating to the anticipated completion of the Bond Offering and the use of proceeds). This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of Etrion based on information currently available to it as well as certain assumptions (including the ability of the Company to obtain the necessary approvals and to satisfy any other conditions precedent necessary to complete the Bond Offering). Forward-looking information is subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Etrion. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the risks related to: the failure of the Company to obtain the required approvals necessary to complete the Bond Offering, unforeseen delays in completing the Bond Offering in a timely manner and the occurrence of any material adverse change in the Company that could prevent the Bond Offering from being completed in a timely manner, or at all.

Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Etrion disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although Etrion believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof.

For additional information, please visit the Company’s website at www.etrion.com or contact:

Christian Lacueva – Chief Financial Officer
Telephone: +41 (22) 715 20 90