Whirlpool enters restated $500 million credit facility due 2016

By Marisa Wong

Morgantown, W.Va., Oct. 1 – Whirlpool Corp. entered into an amended and restated short-term credit agreement on Sept. 25 for a 364-day $500 million credit facility, according to an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BNP Paribas Securities Corp. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. acted as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners with JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA as administrative agent and BNP Paribas and Citibank, NA as syndication agents.

The amended facility matures on Sept. 23, 2016 and restates the company’s 364-day credit facility dated Sept. 26, 2014, which was intended to support its 2014 acquisition of Indesit Co. SpA.

Collectively, the $500 million amended facility, a €250 million European facility added in July and the company’s existing $2 billion long-term credit facility provide total committed credit facilities of about $2.8 billion, which is fundamentally unchanged from the $3 billion in committed credit facilities available as of Dec. 31, 2014.

However, the facilities are now more geographically diverse, better reflecting the company’s growing global operations, the filing noted.

In addition to the facilities and as disclosed in the company’s most recent 10-K filing, there are additional committed credit facilities in Brazil supporting the company’s Latin American operations. The company believes these facilities are sufficient to support its global operations.

Interest rates on the newly restated facility are based on the company’s current debt rating and are unchanged from the original 364-day facility at Libor plus 125 basis points.

The facility contains covenants, including a rolling 12-month maximum leverage ratio limited to 3.25 to 1.0 for each fiscal quarter and a rolling 12-month interest coverage ratio required to be greater than or equal to 3.0 to 1.0 for each fiscal quarter.

The major home appliance manufacturer is based in Benton Harbor, Mich.

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