PADUA, Italy–Safilo Group S.p.A.’s board of directors met Wednesday and moved to convene an extraordinary shareholders meeting next month at which the company will seek approval of a share capital increase of a maximum of €150 million through the issue of new ordinary shares. The shares will be offered to the company’s shareholders via a rights offering. The extraordinary meeting is scheduled for Oct. 29, according to Wednesday’s announcement. Safilo said the refinancing initiative will strengthen the company’s capital and financial structure and will “support execution of the 2020 business plan.” The effort is supported by the company’s “reference shareholder,” which is HAL Holding/Multibrands Italy BV, according to the announcement.

“The capital increase and the confirmed support of the reference shareholder and the lending banks represent a significant step for Safilo, following which the company will be ready to confidently pursue the targets of the 2020 business plan, focusing on few, very clear priorities,” Safilo chief executive officer Angelo Trocchia said in a statement.

Safilo said it intends to complete the transaction as soon as possible, subject to corporate and regulatory approvals. The share capital increase “supports the overall program of refinancing of the group’s debt expiring within the next 12 months,” the announcement noted. It also will enable the company to strengthen and optimize its capital structure “so as to allow the company to focus on the growth and development targets set forth in the group’s update of the 2020 business plan.”

Safilo last month announced an updated 2020 business plan that includes moderate sales growth compared to 2018 and a strong recovery of profitability, mainly through adjusting the group’s cost structure, as VMAIL reported.

As part of the refinancing program announced Wednesday, Safilo said it is working with a pool of leading banks to negotiate the commercial terms and conditions of the €150 million financing.

The announcement also noted that HAL/Multibrands will have the right to withdraw from the refinancing subscription agreement in case of a material adverse change relating to the company, or other operating factors.