(Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall)
SMITHFIELD, Va., June 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Smithfield Foods, Inc. announced today that it has priced its previously announced offering of senior secured notes due July 2014. The notes will have an interest rate of 10% per annum and will be issued at a price equal to 96.201% of their face value. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the notes offering to repay borrowings and terminate commitments under its existing U.S. revolving credit facility, repay and/or refinance other indebtedness and for other general corporate purposes.
The notes will be offered and sold to qualified institutional buyers in the United States pursuant to Rule 144A and outside the United States pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933.
The notes will be guaranteed by substantially all of the U.S. subsidiaries of the company. The notes and guarantees will be secured by first-priority liens, subject to permitted liens and exceptions for excluded assets, in substantially all of the company's and its subsidiary guarantors' fixed assets, including certain real property, fixtures and equipment and tangible personal property, and by second-priority liens, subject to permitted liens, in substantially all of the company's and its subsidiary guarantors' cash and cash equivalents, certain material intellectual property, the common equity of the subsidiary guarantors, inventory, accounts receivable and other personal property relating to such inventory and accounts receivable.
The sale of the notes is expected to be consummated in early July 2009, subject to market and other conditions, including the consummation of a new $1 billion asset-based credit facility and a new $200.0 million term loan.
The new credit facility will replace the company's existing U.S. revolving credit facility and will include an option, subject to certain conditions, to increase available commitments to $1.3 billion in the future. Similar to the notes, the new credit facility will be guaranteed by substantially all of the U.S. subsidiaries of the company. The new credit facility will be secured by first-priority liens, subject to permitted liens and exceptions for excluded assets, in substantially all of the company's and its subsidiary guarantors' cash and cash equivalents, certain material intellectual property, the common equity of substantially all of the U.S. subsidiaries, inventory, accounts receivable and other personal property relating to such inventory and accounts receivable and certain other assets, and by second-priority liens, subject to permitted liens, in the assets in which the notes being offered will have a first priority lien.
