ProposedRefinancingofCreditFacilitiesAnnoucementFINAL
ABERCROMBIE & FITCH ANNOUNCES PROPOSED REFINANCING OF CREDIT FACILITIES
New Albany, Ohio, July 14, 2014: Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) today announced that it has initiated a process to refinance its existing credit facilities. The existing credit facilities consist of a $350 million unsecured Revolving Credit Facility maturing July 27, 2016 and a $150 million Term Loan A maturing February 23, 2017.
The new credit facilities are expected to consist of a $400 million Asset-Based Revolving Credit Facility and a $325 million Term Loan B maturing five and seven years after the closing date, respectively. The new credit facilities are subject to, among other things, negotiation, successful syndication, execution and delivery of definitive loan documentation and various customary closing conditions. Proceeds from the Term Loan B are expected to be used to pay off the remaining $131.5 million balance under the existing Term Loan A, to repay outstanding borrowings of $60 million under the existing Revolving Credit Facility, and to pay related fees and expenses associated with the transaction. The balance of the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including potential share repurchases in accordance with the Company’s previously announced stock repurchase authorizations. The Company does not expect, other than for an immaterial amount of outstanding letters of credit, to draw down on the Asset-Based Revolving Credit Facility at closing.
Commenting on the announcement, Everett Gallagher, Treasurer of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., said:
“The proposed refinancing we have initiated is an opportunity for A&F to take advantage of current favorable credit markets, and increase financial flexibility for the Company in the future.”
The terms of the refinancing could materially differ from above and no assurances can be given that the refinancing will be consummated.
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, PNC Capital Markets LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Goldman Sachs Lending Partners are acting as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners for the Term Loan B and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., PNC Capital Markets LLC, and JPMorgan Securities LLC are acting as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners for the Asset-Based Revolving Credit Facility.
About Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is a leading global specialty retailer of high-quality, casual apparel for Men, Women and kids with an active, youthful lifestyle under its Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie, Hollister Co. and Gilly Hicks brands. At the end of the first quarter, the Company operated 842 stores in the United States and 157 stores across Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. The Company also operates e-commerce websites at www.abercrombie.com, www.abercrombiekids.com, www.hollisterco.com and www.gillyhicks.com.
Investor Contact:
Brian Logan
Abercrombie & Fitch
(614) 283-6877
Investor_Relations@abercrombie.com
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
A&F cautions that any forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) contained in this Press Release or made by management or spokespeople of A&F involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various important factors, many of which may be beyond the Company's control. Words such as "estimate," "project," "plan," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Except as may be required by applicable law, we assume no obligation to publicly update or revise our forward-looking statements. The following factors, in addition to those included in the disclosure under the heading "FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTORS" in "ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS" of A&F's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 1, 2014, in some cases have affected and in the future could affect the Company's financial performance and could cause actual results for Fiscal 2014 and beyond to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any of the forward-looking statements included in this Press Release or otherwise made by management: changes in economic and financial conditions, and the resulting impact on consumer confidence and consumer spending, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and liquidity; changing fashion trends and consumer preferences, and the ability to manage our inventory commensurate with customer demand, could adversely impact our sales levels and profitability; fluctuations in the cost, availability and quality of raw materials, labor and transportation, could cause manufacturing delays and increase our costs; a significant component of our growth strategy is international expansion, which requires significant capital investment, adds complexity to our operations and may strain our resources and adversely impact current store performance; our international expansion plan is dependent on a number of factors, any of which could delay or prevent successful penetration into new markets or could adversely affect the profitability of our international operations; we have increased the focus of our growth strategy on direct-to-consumer sales channels, failure to successfully develop our position in these channels could have an adverse impact on our results of operations; our direct-to-consumer operations are subject to numerous risks that could adversely impact sales; failure to successfully implement certain growth initiatives may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations; our business could suffer if our information technology systems are disrupted or cease to operate effectively; comparable sales, including direct-to-consumer, may continue to fluctuate on a regular basis and impact the volatility of the price of our Common Stock; extreme weather conditions may negatively impact our results of operations; our market share may be negatively impacted by increasing competition and pricing pressures from companies with brands or merchandise competitive with ours; our ability to attract customers to our stores depends, in part, on the success of the shopping malls or area attractions in which most of our stores are located; our net sales fluctuate on a seasonal basis, causing our results of operations to be susceptible to changes in Back-to-School and Holiday shopping patterns; our failure to protect our reputation could have a material adverse effect on our brands; we rely on the experience and skills of our senior executive officers, the loss of whom could have a material adverse effect on our business; interruption in the flow of merchandise from our key vendors and international manufacturers could disrupt our supply chain, which could result in lost sales and increased costs; in a number of our European stores, associates are represented by workers’ councils and unions, whose demands could adversely affect our profitability or operating standards for our brands; we depend upon independent third parties for the manufacture and delivery of all our merchandise; our reliance on two distribution centers domestically and three third-party distribution centers internationally makes us susceptible to disruptions or adverse conditions affecting our distribution centers; we rely on third-party vendors as well as other third-party arrangements for many aspects of our business, failure to successfully manage these relationships could negatively impact our results of operations or expose us to liability for the actions of third-party vendors acting on our behalf; we may be exposed to risks and costs associated with credit card fraud and identity theft that would cause us to incur unexpected expenses and loss of revenues; our facilities, systems and stores, as well as the facilities and systems of our vendors and manufacturers, are vulnerable to natural disasters, pandemic disease and other unexpected events, any of which could result in an interruption to our business and adversely affect our operating results; our litigation exposure could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations; our inability or failure to adequately protect our trademarks could have a negative impact on our brand image and limit our ability to penetrate new markets; actions of activist stockholders could have a negative effect on our business; fluctuations in our tax obligations and effective tax rate may result in
volatility in our operating results; the effects of war or acts of terrorism could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition; our inability to obtain commercial insurance at acceptable prices or our failure to adequately reserve for self-insured exposures might increase our expenses and adversely impact our financial results; operating results and cash flows at the store level may cause us to incur impairment charges; we are subject to customs, advertising, consumer protection, privacy, zoning and occupancy and labor and employment laws that could require us to modify our current business practices, incur increased costs or harm our reputation if we do not comply; changes in the regulatory or compliance landscape could adversely affect our business and results of operations; our unsecured Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (the “Amended and Restated Credit Agreement”) and our Term Loan Agreement include financial and other covenants that impose restrictions on our financial and business operations; compliance with changing regulations and standards for accounting, corporate governance and public disclosure could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reported financial results; our inability to successfully implement our long-range strategic plan could have a negative impact on our growth and profitability and our estimates of the expenses that we may incur in connection with the closures of the Gilly Hicks stores could prove to be inaccurate.