Village Farms International Announces Expansion of Pure Sunfarms' Credit Facility with Existing Lender by up to $59 Million
March 31, 2020
Source: PR Newswire
Village Farms International, Inc. ("Village Farms" or the "Company") (TSX: VFF;NASDAQ: VFF) today announced its majority-owned joint venture for large-scale, low-cost, high-quality cannabis production, Pure Sunfarms, has expanded its credit facility with its existing lender to $59 million, including accordion provisions of $22.5 million. The expanded credit facility (the "Credit Facility") consists of a $7.5 million revolving operating loan (the "Revolver") and a $10 million term loan (the "New Term Loan"), in addition to its existing $19 million term loan (the "Existing Term Loan"). The New Term Loan is specifically designated for the 1.1 million square foot Delta 2 greenhouse while the Existing Term Loan is specifically designated for the 1.1 million square foot Delta 3 greenhouse facility. (All figures are in Canadian dollars.)
The $7.5 million Revolver and the $10 million New Term Loan include an accordion provision that allows Pure Sunfarms to request additional lender commitments of up to an additional $7.5 million and $15 million, respectively, subject to an additional lender entering the syndicate on or before May 30, 2020. Each of the components of the Credit Facility, including the Existing Term Loan, mature on February 7, 2022.
The finalization of the Credit Facility is subject to Pure Sunfarms satisfying certain pre-conditions, including an additional capital contribution by Village Farms of $8 million to Pure Sunfarms (the "Additional Capital Contribution"), which is expected to be completed this week. Upon completion of the Additional Capital Contribution, Village Farms will have further increased its majority ownership of Pure Sunfarms to 58.7%.
"This significantly expanded credit facility provides Pure Sunfarms with financial resources and flexibility as it continues to build on its success to date as a leading Canadian cannabis producer and brand," said Michael DeGiglio, CEO, Village Farms. "This financing is yet another expression of confidence in the strength and potential of the Pure Sunfarms business and we appreciate the continuing support of Pure Sunfarms existing lender."
About Village Farms International, Inc.
Village Farms is one of the largest and longest-operating vertically integrated greenhouse growers in North America and the only publicly traded greenhouse produce company in Canada. Village Farms produces and distributes fresh, premium-quality produce with consistency 365 days a year to national grocers in the U.S. and Canada from more than nine million square feet of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) greenhouses in British Columbia and Texas, as well as from its partner greenhouses in British Columbia, Ontario and Mexico. The Company is now leveraging its 30 years of experience as a vertically integrated grower for the rapidly emerging global cannabis opportunity through its majority ownership of British Columbia-based Pure Sunfarms Corp., one of the single largest cannabis growing operations in the world. The Company also intends to pursue opportunities to become a vertically integrated leader in the U.S. hemp-derived CBD market, subject to compliance with all applicable U.S. federal and state laws, Village Farms has established two joint ventures, Village Fields Hemp and Arkansas Valley Green and Gold Hemp, for outdoor hemp cultivation and CBD extraction and is pursuing controlled environment hemp production at a portion of its Texas greenhouse operations, which total 5.7 million square feet of production area.