(CAMP HILL, PA) -- The 4,800-store Rite Aid Corp. won a breather today. The Camp Hill, PA-based drugstore chain closed refinancing deals totaling $1.9 billion. Many of the older loans would have come due in September 2010.
"We are very pleased to have completed the refinancing," says Mary Sammons, Rite Aid chairman and CEO.
"The refinancing significantly improves our debt maturity profile and provides us with the time and liquidity to further implement our initiatives to continue to improve our performance. As a result of the refinancing, we are in a much stronger financial position."
Among the older loans refinanced were a $145 million tranche 1 term loan and a $1.75 billion senior secured revolving credit facility.
Simmons says the comprehensive refinancing plan was accomplished in a series of transactions, beginning with an amendment and restatement of Rite Aid's senior secured credit facility.
The deals included:
- The incurrence of $525 million of senior secured term loans due 2015. The proceeds were used to repay existing term and revolving loans due 2010.
- The issuance of $410 million of 9.75% first lien senior secured notes due 2016. The proceeds were used to repay existing revolving loans.
- The incurrence of a new $1.0 billion revolving credit facility expiring in 2012 to replace the remaining portion of Rite Aid's existing revolving credit facility expiring in 2010.
Rite Aid, which previously announced completion of the term loan and senior secured notes, completed the $1 billion revolving credit facility June 26, 2009.
Simmons says that as a result of the refinancing, Rite Aid's "only significant debt due before the maturity of the new revolving credit facility in 2012 are borrowings under its accounts receivable securitization programs which come due in September 2010."
She adds, "The amendments to Rite Aid's senior secured credit facility, obtained as part of the refinancing, provide Rite Aid with increased flexibility to refinance these programs with on or off balance sheet facilities."
Rite Aid operates in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Fiscal 2009 annual revenue totaled $26.3 billion.
Leave a comment