French drone manufacturer Exail said on Thursday that talks with financial investor ICG have not produced an agreement on the valuation to be used for a potential redemption and repurchase of bonds and preference shares that ICG holds in Exail Holding.
The company reiterated that it plans to refinance its debt this year. In a statement, Exail said an independent valuation firm appraised the combined bonds and preference shares held by ICG and by minority shareholders at approximately c710 million, or about $817 million.
ICG has proposed an alternative valuation methodology tied to Exail's prevailing stock market price. Using that approach would yield a significantly larger aggregate figure of around c1.1 billion. Exail's statement noted that discussions with ICG are continuing, but did not report a resolution.
Key elements to note from the unfolding situation include the following: the parties disagree on the correct basis for valuing the securities in question; an independent appraisal produces a substantially lower valuation than the figure ICG has advanced; and refinancings are still planned for this year despite the outstanding valuation issue.
From a corporate finance perspective, the discrepancy in valuations establishes the central negotiation challenge. The independent valuation and the investor-proposed market-price-based valuation differ by several hundred million euros, a gap that will directly influence the economics of any redemption or repurchase transaction.
Exail's public comments confined themselves to reporting the valuation amounts and confirming that talks remain ongoing. The company also indicated that refinancing of its debt is an active priority for the current year.
Because the public information is limited to the valuation figures and the status of discussions, further details about timing, financing sources, or potential transaction structures have not been disclosed.
Summary: Exail and ICG have not agreed on the value to apply to bonds and preference shares held in Exail Holding ahead of a planned debt refinancing. An independent valuation came in at roughly c710 million, while ICG's market-price-based proposal would result in about c1.1 billion. Negotiations are continuing.