Amsterdam, The
Netherlands – Shareholders of TomTom NV approved a rights issue aimed at
reducing the company’s heavy debt.
TomTom
shareholders approved to issue more than 85 million new ordinary shares,
confirmed TomTom. The company has now raised close to $600 million (430 million
euro), which also includes its plan to sell an approximate $140 million (100
million euro) stake in the company to Cyrte Investments and Janivo Holding,
TomTom said.
TomTom’s heavy
debt stems from its purchase of map maker Tele Atlas in June last year for $4.3
billion. In April, TomTom reported
a net debt of $1.5 billion.
An analyst said
the rights issue saves the GPS maker from the threat of bankruptcy, Reuters
reported.
