VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - March 25, 2015) -
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
Premium Brands Holdings Corporation ("Premium Brands" or the "Company") (TSX:PBH), a leading producer, marketer and distributor of branded specialty food products, is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters co-led by BMO Capital Markets and CIBC World Markets Inc., and including Cormark Securities Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., TD Securities Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp. and PI Financial Corp. (collectively, the "Underwriters"), pursuant to which the Company will issue on a "bought-deal" basis, subject to regulatory approval, $50,000,000 aggregate principal amount of convertible unsecured subordinated debentures (the "Debentures") at a price of $1,000 per Debenture (the "Offering"). The Company has also granted the Underwriters an over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional $7,500,000 aggregate principal amount of Debentures, on the same terms, exercisable in whole or in part at any time for a period of up to 30 days following closing of the Offering, to cover over-allotments, if any. If the over-allotment option is exercised in full, the total gross proceeds raised under the Offering will be $57,500,000.
The Company intends to redeem in full the approximately $43,527,000 aggregate principal amount of its 5.75% convertible unsecured subordinated debentures, due December 31st, 2015, ("5.75% Debentures") outstanding in accordance with the indenture governing such debentures.
The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering initially to repay indebtedness under its credit facility which will then be available to be drawn, as required, to fund the redemption of the 5.75% Debentures, for future acquisitions, capital projects and/or general corporate purposes
The Debentures will bear interest from the date of issue at 5.00% per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears on April 30 and October 31 each year commencing October 31, 2015. The Debentures will each have a maturity date of April 30, 2020 (the "Maturity Date").
The Debentures will be convertible at the holder's option at any time prior to the close of business on the earlier of the Maturity Date and the business day immediately preceding the date specified by the Company for redemption of the Debentures into common shares at a conversion price of $44.65 per common share, being a conversion rate of 22.3964 common shares for each $1,000 principal amount of Debentures.
Closing of the Offering is expected to occur on or about April 17, 2015. The Offering is subject to normal regulatory approvals, including approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Debentures will be offered in each of the provinces of Canada by way of a short form prospectus, and by way of private placement in the United States to "qualified institutional buyers" pursuant to Rule 144A or in such a manner as to not require registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Premium Brands owns a broad range of leading specialty food manufacturing and differentiated food distribution businesses with operations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nevada, Ohio and Washington State. These include Grimm's, Harvest, McSweeney's, Bread Garden Go, Hygaard, Hempler's, Quality Fast Foods, Direct Plus, Harlan Fairbanks, Creekside Custom Foods, Stuyver's Bakestudio, Centennial Foodservice, B&C Food Distributors, Shahir, Wescadia, Duso's, Maximum Seafood, SK Food Group, OvenPride, Hub City Fisheries, Audrey's, Deli Chef, Piller's and Freybe.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward looking statements with respect to the Company, including its business operations, strategy and financial performance and condition. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward looking words such as "may", "could", "should", "would", "will", "expect", "intend", "plan", "estimate", "project", "anticipate", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations.
Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward looking statements are reasonable and represent the Company's internal expectations and belief as of March 25, 2015, such statements involve unknown risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control which may cause its actual performance and results in future periods to differ materially from any estimates or projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include, among other things: (i) changes in the cost of raw materials used in the production of the Company's products; (ii) seasonal and/or weather related fluctuations in the Company's sales; (iii) changes in consumer discretionary spending resulting from changes in economic conditions and/or general consumer confidence levels; (iv) changes in the cost of products sourced from third party manufacturers and sold through the Company's proprietary distribution networks; (v) risks associated with the Company's conversion from a publicly traded income trust to a publicly traded corporation, including related changes in Canada's income tax laws; (vi) changes in the Company's relationships with its larger customers; (vii) potential liabilities and expenses resulting from defects in the Company's products; (viii) changes in consumer food product preferences; (ix) competition from other food manufacturers and distributors; (x) execution risk associated with the Company's growth initiatives; (xi) execution risk associated with the Company's business restructuring initiatives; (xii) risks associated with the Company's business acquisition strategies; (xiii) changes in the value of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar; (xiv) new government regulations affecting the Company's business and operations; (xv) the Company's ability to raise the capital needed to fund its various growth initiatives; (xvi) labour related issues including potential labour disputes with employees represented by labour unions and labour shortages; (xvii) the loss of and/or the inability to attract key personnel; (xviii) fluctuations in interest rates charged on the Company's variable rate debt obligations which have not been hedged with interest rate swaps; (xix) a major disruption, failure, or breach of the Company's information technology systems; (xx) credit risk associated with the Company's major customers; (xxi) plant shutdowns, periods of reduced production, or unexpected interruptions in production capabilities as a result of equipment failures; (xxii) risks related to the health status of livestock which impact both the supply of raw materials to the Company's production facilities as well as consumer confidence in the Company's products; (xxiii) risks associated with international events that affect the price of food commodities or the free flow of food products between countries; and (xxiv) changes in environmental, health and safety regulations under which the Company operates. Details on these risk factors as well as other factors can be found in the Company's 2014 MD&A, which is filed electronically through SEDAR and is available online at www.sedar.com.
Unless otherwise indicated, the forward looking information in this document is made as of March 25, 2015 and, except as required by applicable law, will not be publicly updated or revised. This cautionary statement expressly qualifies the forward looking information in this press release.