VILNIUS - Lithuania's natural gas utility Lietuvos Dujos (Lithuanian Gas), which is controlled by German and Russian investors, announced that it intended to place a new issue of bonds this summer.
The securities commission this week will consider an application for the placement of 100 million litas (29 million euros) in debt securities. Pursuant to the bond program, which was approved by the board of Lietuvos Dujos in mid-April, the securities might be floated on the exchange or issued in a private placement, said Aurelija Gasiuniene, head of registration office of the commission.
In addition, the bonds might be placed on domestic or foreign markets, as well as be nominated in different currencies and bear different yield rates, she added.
Andrius Bielskis, head of Lietuvos Dujos' finance management department, refused to comment on the company's borrowing plans. However, he confirmed that the first issue was likely to be closed, with the bonds offered to Baltic-based investors.
He did not deny that receipts of one of the upcoming issues would be used to redeem previous bonds. In August Lietuvos Dujos will redeem the last 6 million euro part of the 30 million euro issue of bonds distributed in 2001 under the lead management of DePfa Bank Europe. Then the company will redeem a 20 million bond issue during the same month.
