EDMONTON, March 20, 2018 /CNW/ - AutoCanada Inc. (the
"Company") (TSX:ACQ) today announced an important milestone in its
growth plan as it entered into a new credit agreement providing
secured credit facilities up to $1.08
billion, subject to certain conditions precedent to
funding.
Upon closing, the new three-year credit agreement will increase
the Company's borrowing capacity and provide $660 million for floorplan and lease financing,
$350 million for acquisitions and
capital expenditures as well as $70
million for general corporate purposes.
The new facility, led by Scotiabank and involving all prior
syndicate participants, including CIBC, RBC, HSBC and ATB, replaces
AutoCanada's existing $550 million
syndicated floorplan facility and $250
million syndicated revolving credit agreement. The key
financial covenants associated with the new facility are similar to
the existing facilities that are being replaced.
"This new credit facility will provide AutoCanada with the
flexibility to continue to grow and acquire dealerships, finance
our business and maintain a prudent approach to leverage. We thank
all of our lending partners for their support in completing the
syndication and their continued vote of confidence in our success,"
said Chris Burrows, Senior
Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer.
About AutoCanada
AutoCanada is Canada's largest multi-location
automobile dealership group by volume, currently operating 54
franchised dealerships, comprised of 62 franchises, in eight
provinces and has over 3,500 employees. AutoCanada currently sells
Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet,
GMC, Buick, Cadillac, Infiniti, Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru,
Mitsubishi, Audi, Volkswagen, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Smart, BMW
and MINI branded vehicles. In 2017, our dealerships sold
approximately 63,000 vehicles and processed approximately 870,000
service and collision repair orders in our 999 service bays for a
total revenue in excess of $3
billion.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this news release are
forward‑looking statements and information (collectively
"forward‑looking statements"), within the meaning of the applicable
Canadian securities legislation. We hereby provide cautionary
statements identifying important factors that could cause our
actual results to differ materially from those projected in these
forward‑looking statements. Any statements that express, or involve
discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives,
assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always,
through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result",
"are expected to", "will continue", "is anticipated",
"projection", "vision", "goals", "objective", "target",
"schedules", "outlook", "anticipate", "expect", "estimate",
"could", "should", "plan", "seek", "may", "intend", "likely",
"will", "believe" and similar expressions) are not historical facts
and are forward‑looking and may involve estimates and assumptions
and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors some of
which are beyond our control and difficult to predict. Accordingly,
these factors could cause actual results or outcomes to differ
materially from those expressed in the forward‑looking statements.
Therefore, any such forward‑looking statements are qualified in
their entirety by reference to the factors discussed throughout
release.
Further, any forward‑looking statement speaks only as of the
date on which such statement is made, and, except as required by
applicable law, we undertake no obligation to update any
forward‑looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after
the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to
time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such
factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on
our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of
factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those
contained in any forward‑looking statement.
Additional Information
Additional information about AutoCanada is available at the
Company's website at www.autocan.ca and www.sedar.com.
SOURCE AutoCanada Inc.