Premier announced that its subsidiaries have entered into a new, five-year unsecured revolving facility that provides up to $750 million of borrowing ability. The maximum amount of the facility can be increased by an aggregate $250 million, subject to the approval of the lenders. The new facility was provided through a banking syndicate arranged by Wells Fargo Securities, and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith.

The new facility matures on June 24, 2019, and replaces and terminates the previous $100 million senior secured revolver scheduled to mature on December 16, 2014. The prior facility had no outstanding borrowings at the time of termination.

“Our refinancing provides Premier with additional access to capital at very favorable rates,” said Craig McKasson, Premier SVP and CFO. “It also provides greater flexibility to our capital structure as we seek to invest in the long-term growth of our company and execute our business strategy.”

Borrowings under the new credit agreement may be in the form of eurodollar rate loans or base rate loans, at the option of the borrowers, and bear interest based on the London Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR) plus 1.125% to 1.75% or the Base Rate plus 0.125% to 0.750%, respectively. The Base Rate is defined as the highest of the prime rate, the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50%, or the one-month LIBOR plus 1.0%. On the closing date, the interest rate for the three-month Eurodollar Rate loans was 1.355% and the interest rate for Base Rate loans was 3.375%.

The facility is subject to customary covenants, including consolidated leverage and interest coverage ratios, and customary events of default.

Premier is a healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of approximately 3,000 U.S. hospitals and 110,000 other providers to transform healthcare.