Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM), a producer of high-purity cellulose specialties and other sustainable materials, obtained $250 million in aggregate principal amount of secured term loan financing from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management.
RYAM will use proceeds from the term loan, along with approximately $85 million in balance sheet cash, to redeem the remaining $318 million in aggregate principal amount of RYAM’s existing 2024 senior unsecured notes and to pay fees and expenses associated with the transactions. The term loan will mature on July 20, 2027.
“We are pleased to have completed this important financing step for RYAM, which strengthens our capital structure and preserves the flexibility to execute our long-term business strategy,” De Lyle Bloomquist, president and CEO of RYAM, said. “Importantly, this new debt structure allows us to meet our obligations while also providing the flexibility to deleverage and to opportunistically make strategic investments that will fuel the growth of our biomaterials business.
“We were able to partially offset the impact of the higher interest rate by reducing our overall debt balance, and we will augment this action with the expected benefits from the strategic projects that will come online by 2024 and the targeted increased labor productivity derived from improved operating reliability. This successful financing transaction reinforces our commitment to creating long-term value for our shareholders and further establishes RYAM as a leader in the sustainable materials sector.”
“Oaktree is delighted to partner with RYAM and facilitate the refinancing of the company’s senior unsecured notes,” Brook Hinchman, a managing director at Oaktree Capital Management, said. “RYAM’s demonstrated market leadership within specialty cellulose combined with management’s relentless focus on balance sheet optimization give us tremendous confidence as investors in the company. We appreciate the opportunity to work with De Lyle and the full RYAM team to accelerate growth, especially around sustainable biomaterials and biofuels in the clean energy transition.”
Goldman Sachs served as financial advisor and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal counsel to RYAM on this transaction. RBC Capital Markets served as financial advisor and Sullivan & Cromwell served as legal counsel to Oaktree on this transaction.
