The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. announced that it has successfully completed the closing of a new $150 million ABL Term Loan that matures in March 2021. According to an 8-K filing with the SEC, Bank of America served as adminstrative agent on the loan.

The new $150 million ABL Term Loan replaces the existing $100 million A-1 Tranche of the Company’s credit facility and increases the total commitment under the facility to $880 million. The ABL Term Loan was placed with institutional lenders and bears interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 950 basis points.  The Company will use approximately $75 million of the net proceeds to reduce all amounts currently outstanding under the existing A-1 tranche of its credit facility which matures in  December, 2018, and the balance of the net proceeds will be used to enhance the Company’s liquidity and retire the remaining $57 million of its Senior Notes due 2017.

In commenting on the transaction, Nancy Walsh, Bon-Ton’s Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer said, “We are pleased to announce this refinancing which enhances our borrowing capacity and extends our debt maturities.  We have successfully added liquidity which will facilitate the retirement of our 2017 Notes.  We appreciate the strong support of our existing bank group as well as the new institutional lenders in the ABL Term Loan.”

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., with corporate headquarters in York, Pennsylvania and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, operates 267 stores, which includes nine furniture galleries and four clearance centers, in 26 states in the Northeast, Midwest and upper Great Plains under the Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s and Younkers nameplates.