Aveng snuck in a late stock exchange announcement ahead of the long weekend, saying it intends reducing the "unsustainable" debt levels within the diversified group. It is probably foremost among major players in SA’s construction industry that are undergoing an existential crisis after R53bn in annual turnover in financial 2014 shrunk to about R23.5bn more recently. The group is frank about its problems. It has underbid on projects because of fierce competition for tenders; it has suffered bad management, poor project execution and has also been hit by a lack of spend on large infrastructure projects by the government. It says R2bn of 7.25% senior unsecured convertible registered bonds due in July 2019 are exerting big pressure on its capital structure. So now it wants to redeem the existing convertible bonds early by launching a fully renounceable rights offer of R1.8bn. A recently concluded strategic review proposes selling off noncore assets and restructuring around its Moolmans...
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