Comvita secures lender deal as it targets $25m capital raise

Loss making Comvita has done a deal with its lenders. Photo / Supplied

Mānuka honey exporter Comvita has reached a deal with its lenders that will allow the company to recapitalise – a process that will require $25 million.

The deal follows a failed attempt last month by Florenz – a unit of Christchurch-based Masthead, the investment vehicle of the Stewart family – to take the company over at 80c a share.

The stock last traded on the NZX at 50.5c a share.

Following the Florenz process, Comvita said the board and management have been working with the company’s lenders with a view to placing the company in a sustainable capital position.

Comvita considers that new capital of “at least $25m” will be required to “position the company appropriately”.

“The agreement with the lending syndicate reflects that and includes the extension of the maturities of the company’s expiring banking facilities, currently due in January and March, through to April 30, 2026, and the granting of further covenant waivers for the March 31, 2026, testing date,” the company said.

Comvita also agreed to a temporary covenant related to minimum earnings before interest and tax for the six months ending December 31, 2025, and staged facility reductions through to the end of March, 2026, both of which Comvita expects to meet based on present business performance.

“Comvita is in constructive, but early, dialogue with several parties, as to their support for the company and the role they can play in any capital raise,” it said.

“This includes investors with no current shareholding who have indicated a material interest in participating, as well as existing shareholders who have indicated they wish to increase their holdings.

“At this stage, no binding commitments or arrangements have been agreed.

“The board and its advisers are assessing all options in line with the company’s obligations to consider the interests of all shareholders and the objectives shared between the company and its lending syndicate,” it said.

The Florenz takeover attempt came as the mānuka honey industry struggled with oversupply and aggressive discounting.

Comvita’s last result showed it sank deeper into the red with a loss of $104.8m for the year to June 30 from $77.4m a year earlier.

Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.

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