RE:financingI do not see this as a bad thing. In this low interest rate environment and with governments (especially the US) printing cash like toilet paper, it makes sense to get financing done now and pay it off later with inflated dollars. A JV partner might want to see this in place before pulling the trigger since the notes can be floated first more easily.
If this happens without any major glitches, the looming debt call will be off the table and the company can move forward with more certainty.
There are potential problems though, and I am going to watch for those.
1. Really high expenses or interest rates. The previous 8.75% rate was extremely high. Expenses are always high when you place bonds. I have done that twice with companies I have owned and the initial expenses were very high. Straight bank financing is less expensive if you can get it. The problem with banks is that the only way to qualify for it for businesses is to be so financially viable you don't need it.
2. Pissing away the cash on operating expenses. If this salts away $75 million for Florence, it is good. The company also has $80 million or something in the bank. They can generate more cash hopefully over the next year. But if they end up spending $40 million on Florence just on operating expenses, it all starts to look much worse.
I look for more news soon about Florence once this starts to settle out. Going to watch. Might be a little more if it continues to drop.