Quiksilver, Inc. has amended and extended its existing asset-based line of credit in the Americas region under substantially better terms, the company said Thursday.

 
The original credit line with joint lead arrangers Bank of America Merrill Lynch and GE Capital funded on July 31, 2009. Although the company currently has no borrowings under the credit line, interest rates have been reduced by approximately 150 basis points and commitment fees have been reduced by approximately 50 basis points. The revised credit line has a capacity of $150 million and the term has also been extended to cover 4 years, maturing on August 28, 2014.

In announcing its fiscal third quarter earnings today, the company reported that its total debt at July 31, 2010, had been reduced to approximately $843 million and that it had approximately $167 million of availability under its credit lines in addition to approximately $156 million of unrestricted cash at the end of the third quarter.

Quiksilver has positioned itself for better financing opportunities by dramatically improving its capital structure over the past year. In particular, in early August the company further reduced its debt by $140 million in a debt-for-equity exchange with its investment partner Rh�ne, leaving Quiksilver with a current debt balance of approximately $700 million.