Enterprise Computer Holdings Plc has reached make-or-break time with its refinancing proposals announced yesterday. The board is recommending a conversion of bank debt to equity together with a placing and two open offers to shareholders. If the refinancing is not agreed to at the extraordinary meeting on April 20, the company, barring miracles, would go into receivership. The existing shares will be converted from shares of 10 pence to one share of a penny and nine deferred shares, the latter effectively worthless, and the new penny shares will then be consolidated 100-to-one to create new ú1 shares. The first open offer to qualifying shareholders is for 800,000 new shares at 100 pence each. The company is issuing new shares to replace ú3.04m of bank debt, but existing holders will be invited to subscribe for these shares in a second open offer: they will be invited to subscribe for up to 2.25m new 100 pence shares at 135 per share. The placing of 1.4m new shares will be with two existing instu tional shareholders of Enterprise: 1.1m of them to GFM International Investors Ltd, which holds about 11% of the current equity. With the combination of the first open offer and the placing, Enterprise hopes to raise some ú1.9m of new money net of expenses. The outstanding loan stock of ú2.13m will be converted into 318,750 new shares, at a rate of 15 new shares of 100 pence for every ú100 of loan stock. The company’s remaining bank debt and an overdraft will be converted into a five-year loan of ú2m. The board has also arranged for the early termination of the company’s lease on its former mainframe engineering property at Winnersh, Berkshire for ú657,000. It was costing Enterprise ú232,500 rent annually. A sub-tenant has been found for the Richmond-upon-Thames property previously occupied by ECS International (UK) Ltd (CI No 2,620), but the firm still has a property for sale in Luton, Bedfordshire valued at ú1.25m. Enterprise shares resumed trading at 3p yesterday, quickly falling to a penny.
