Itafos Announces Debt Refinancing Extending Maturity and Reducing Cost of Debt
September 22 2022 - 9:05AM
Itafos Inc. (TSXV: IFOS) (“
Itafos” or the
“
Company”) announced today that it has entered
into credit facilities (the “
Credit Facilities”)
with a syndicate of lenders led by RBC Capital Markets, as sole
bookrunner and sole lead arranger, pursuant to which the lenders
have advanced an US$85 million term loan (the “
Term
Loan”) to the Company and made available a US$35 million
letter of credit facility (the “
LC Facility”) and
an US$80 million asset-based revolving credit facility (the
“
ABL Facility”). Together, the new Credit
Facilities will provide Itafos with enhanced financial flexibility,
a non-dilutive source of capital as well as the ability to
refinance its existing debt.
“The refinancing announced today represents the
achievement of another important strategic milestone for the
Company. The new debt facilities will improve the company’s
financial performance because of the significantly reduced interest
rates and creates more flexibility for funding of the long-term
growth of the business,” said G. David Delaney, Chief Executive
Officer of Itafos.
The key terms of the Term Loan and LC Facility
are set out below:
- The Term Loan
is secured by the assets of the Company and its US subsidiaries and
will mature on September 22, 2025.
- Interest shall
accrue on outstanding borrowings at a rate equal to Term SOFR plus
a margin ranging from 4.25% to 5.25% per annum based upon the total
net leverage ratio of the Company and its subsidiaries. The initial
borrowings are at a rate of 4.25%.
- The Term Loan
requires quarterly amortization payments and the Company may make
incremental prepayments of the term loan borrowings without penalty
or premium.
The key terms of the ABL Facility are set out
below:
- The ABL
Facility will mature on September 22, 2025. It is secured by the
assets of the Company and its US subsidiaries and guaranteed by
certain of the Company’s US subsidiaries.
- Interest shall
accrue on outstanding borrowings at a rate equal to Term SOFR plus
a margin ranging from 2.25% to 2.75% per annum, based upon the
average excess availability under the ABL Facility.
The Term Loan, LC Facility and ABL Facility are
subject to customary conditions precedent, representations and
warranties, financial and other covenants, and events of
default.
The proceeds of the Term Loan and ABL Facility
will be used to refinance the Company’s indebtedness under the
existing term loan from Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., which
carried an interest rate of 8.25% per annum + LIBOR, the Company’s
existing revolving credit agreement from JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.,
and under the promissory note issued to CL Fertilizers Holding LLC,
which had an interest rate of 18% per annum that was payable in
kind. The refinancing provides for the retiring of all related
party debt. Proceeds from the ABL facility will also be used for
working capital and general corporate purposes.
Upon closing the refinancing, the Term Loan will
have an outstanding balance of US$85.0 million, the ABL Facility
will have an outstanding balance of US$65.0 million, and US$32.8
million will be outstanding under the LC Facility.
About Itafos
The Company is a phosphate and specialty
fertilizer company. The Company’s businesses and projects are as
follows:
- Conda – a vertically integrated
phosphate fertilizer business located in Idaho, US with production
capacity as follows:
- approximately 550kt per year of
monoammonium phosphate (“MAP”), MAP with micronutrients (“MAP+”),
superphosphoric acid (“SPA”), merchant grade phosphoric acid
(“MGA”) and ammonium polyphosphate (“APP”); and
- approximately 27kt per year of
hydrofluorosilicic acid (“HFSA”);
- Arraias – a vertically integrated
phosphate fertilizer business located in Tocantins, Brazil with
production capacity as follows:
- approximately 500kt per year of
single superphosphate (“SSP”) and SSP with micronutrients (“SSP+”);
and
- approximately 40kt per year of
excess sulfuric acid (220kt per year gross sulfuric acid production
capacity);
- Farim – a high-grade phosphate mine
project located in Farim, Guinea-Bissau;
- Santana – a vertically integrated
high-grade phosphate mine and fertilizer plant project located in
Pará, Brazil; and
- Araxá – a vertically integrated
rare earth elements and niobium mine and extraction plant project
located in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
In addition to the businesses and projects
described above, the Company also owns Paris Hills (Idaho, US) and
Mantaro (Junin, Peru), which are phosphate mine projects that are
in process of being wound down.
The Company is a Delaware corporation that is
headquartered in Houston, TX. The Company’s shares trade on the TSX
Venture Exchange (“TSX-V”) under the ticker symbol “IFOS”. The
Company’s principal shareholder is CL Fertilizers Holding LLC
(“CLF”). CLF is an affiliate of Castlelake, L.P., a global private
investment firm.
For more information, or to join the Company’s
mailing list to receive notification of future news releases,
please visit the Company’s website at www.itafos.com.
Forward-Looking Information
Certain information contained in this news
release constitutes forward-looking information, including
statements with respect to the use of proceeds from the Term Loan
and ABL Facility and the potential impact of the transactions on
the Company’s financial performance. All information other than
information of historical fact is forward-looking information. The
use of any of the words “intend”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “continue”,
“estimate”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “should”, “would”,
“believe”, “predict” and “potential” and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking information. This information
involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from
those anticipated in such forward-looking information. No assurance
can be given that this information will prove to be correct and
such forward-looking information included in this news release
should not be unduly relied upon.
Forward-looking information is subject to a
number of risks and other factors that could cause actual results
and events to vary materially from that anticipated by such
forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to
identify important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in forward-looking
statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be
as anticipated, estimated or intended. Factors that may cause
actual results to differ materially from expected results described
in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
those risk factors set out in the Company’s annual information form
and other disclosure documents available under the Company’s
profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website at
www.itafos.com. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of
risks, uncertainties and assumptions are not exhaustive. The
forward-looking information included in this news release is
expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and is made as of
the date of this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information except
as required by applicable securities laws.
NEITHER THE TSX-V NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES
PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX-V)
ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS
RELEASE.
For further information, please
contact:
Itafos Investor Relationsinvestor@itafos.com
www.itafos.com
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