'Milestone' reached in Gehl refinancing says Manitou

Manitou said its US subsidiary Gehl had passed a "milestone" in its financial restructuring by selling US$36 million of existing finance contracts to a third party lender and at the same time amending its credit facility.

The $36 million raised by the transaction has been used to repay in full Gehl's existing securitisation programme, which amounted to $19.5 million, and to reduce to $20 million the principal amount outstanding under its revolving credit facility.

The amendment to the credit facility, meanwhile, means that all past defaults have been waived by the lenders and the maximum credit available has been reduced to $45 million.

Manitou said the credit facility was intended to provide Gehl with enough liquidity for the near-term and give it time to reorganise the long-term financing sources for the company.

Jean-Christophe Giroux, Manitou president and chief executive officer, said; "We are very pleased with this important milestone. It recognises Gehl's constant focus on cash generation over the last 18 months, as well as a gradually improving business environment in the US.

"We are now actively working towards a new and improved financial structure that will support the development of Gehl and its success for the long-term".