Gish Biomedical Converts Bonds to Common Stock

Gish Biomedical Inc. in Santa Ana said Tuesday that it was able to convert all but one holder of 458 bonds to holders of common stock, erasing $458,000 in long-term debt and saving the company $68,700 a year in interest.

Gish, a supplier of surgical lasers and critical care medical equipment, said that each bond had a face value of $1,000 and was convertible to 333 shares of common stock. The bonds were issued in connection with the company’s May, 1982, initial public offering.

Jeanne Miller, Gish’s chief financial officer, said that 152,181 new shares of registered common stock were issued in the conversion, raising the total number of shares outstanding to 1.5 million.

The one bondholder who did not convert to common stock was paid in cash.