Perry Ellis International, Inc. entered into an amendment to renew its credit facility until February 1, 2012, with a syndicate of banks and other financial institutions including Wachovia Bank National Association as agent and lender, the addition of Bank of America N.A. as lender and syndication agent and the participation of HSBC Bank USA, HSBC Business Credit (USA) Inc., The Israel Discount Bank of New York and The CIT Group/Commercial Services, Inc.
George Feldenkreis, chairman and CEO said, “We are very pleased to have completed this amendment to our existing bank credit agreement at favorable terms; particularly under the climate of uncertainty in the credit markets today. The addition of Bank of America as syndication agent to this agreement is a vote of confidence to our financial strength, growth potential and disciplined management.”
The credit facility provides the company with the option to request increases in the maximum of up to $200 million based on collateral availability, with an initial availability of $125 million of which $56.6 million is utilized as of October 29, 2008. Under the amended credit facility, interest on outstanding principal will be calculated based on LIBOR or Prime plus a margin, depending on the level of excess availability, with an effective increase of approximately 95 bps over previous grid. Proceeds of the borrowings under the new credit facility will be used for general working capital and other corporate purposes.
“Today we have the strongest balance sheet in our history. This, coupled with the ability to increase our borrowings by up to $200 million further strengthens our financial condition and adds extra flexibility to fund our multiple growth opportunities for next fiscal year and into the future,” Feldenkreis concluded.
In the sporting goods space, the company’s brands include Nike, Jantzen and Jag for swimwear, Grand Slam, PING and PGA TOUR for golf apparel, Redsand, Gotcha, and MCD in action sports, and the Pro Player sports licensing label. Other brands include Perry Ellis, Laundry by Shelli Segal, C&C California, Cubavera, Munsingwear and Savane.
