Alliance Grain Traders Inc. (AGT) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Alliance Pulse Processors Inc. (APP), has entered into an extension agreement for its $130 million senior secured credit facility with The Bank of Nova Scotia and a syndicate of two other banks, HSBC Bank of Canada and Rabobank Nederland (Canadian Branch). Scotia Capital served as lead arranger and bookrunner, with The Bank of Nova Scotia acting as administration agent.

The extension term will run until April 29, 2013 and carries a further one-year term-out provision that takes the commitment to April 2014. The terms and covenants of the credit agreement remain unchanged and AGT has confirmed that it is in compliance with all of its terms.

“We are pleased to be able to use our borrowing capacity in Canada to drive our business in Canada, the U.S. and Australia and the extension of this credit facility is a positive development for AGT. Our company has the confidence of its lenders and our management team is ready to drive the strategy for growth and utilization of our asset base around the globe. It appears that credit availability is constraining the global economic environment. AGT has established the necessary financing for our operating subsidiaries to fund its global distribution platform,” said Murad Al-Katib, president and CEO of AGT. “We will continue to use our credit facilities as appropriate to drive our asset utilization, execute our global growth plans and manage our working capital to create value for our shareholders. In times of banking sector challenge, we are pleased to be aligned with a strong group of international lenders.”

“The extension of our core operating facility for Canada, the U.S. and Australia is an important step in establishing the appropriate credit facilities to drive our business globally. We will continue to look at the optimization of our capital structure and also utilize debt and cash flows from operations to grow our earnings,” said Huseyin Arslan, executive chairman of AGT. “The 2012 period will see AGT continue to refine and solidify its global financing facilities with the aim to use our position as a global company to expand our access to competitive debt financing instruments. Our syndicate of lenders in this facility continues to demonstrate their effectiveness in extending competively priced financing that fits within our operational strategies.”

The terms of the credit facility are consistent with market standards for the industry and include customary conditions, covenants and representations and warranties. The credit facility will be guaranteed by AGT and certain of APP’s wholly owned subsidiaries.

Alliance Grain Traders Inc. is a value-added pulse, staple food and ingredient processor for export and domestic markets.