July 4 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's government said on Wednesday it decided to extend 103.7 million levs ($61.7 million/ 53 million euro) of reimbursable aid to state-owned railway company BDZ Holding to help it repay outstanding debt to bondholders.
The financial aid should be repaid by the company by December 28, 2020, the government said in a statement following a weekly meting.
BDZ will use the aid to cover outstanding obligations on its 2007 bond issue.
In 2007, BDZ successfully placed a 10-year, 120 million euro bond carrying a floating interest rate of three-month EURIBOR plus a premium of 3.5% on an annual basis.
On Tuesday, BDZ said it has reached an agreement with its creditor banks on the repayment of the bond, as a result of which the sale of company assets has been terminated.
Last month, Bulgarian newspaper Capital reported that part of a landmark historic building in Sofia where BDZ Passenger Services is headquartered, has been put up for sale by a private enforcement agent for a starting price of 7.3 million levs.
Deputy transport minister Velik Zanchev said in May that the Sofia City Court has frozen 40 million levs in bank accounts held by BDZ Passenger Services, a unit of BDZ Holding, after the company failed to make payments on its 120 million euro bond,
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)