Cadiz Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement with its new majority senior lender, MSD Credit Opportunity Master Fund, L.P. (“MSD Credit”), to increase the company’s existing $30 million senior secured mortgage loan by $10 million to fund additional working capital. MSD Credit previously acquired the majority interest of the $30 million portion of the debt in a private transaction. The new $10 million, together with our existing cash resources, places the company in a strong position to complete the defense of existing permits for the Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project (the “Water Project”) and move toward project construction.

The new $10 million tranche accrues interest at 8% and requires no principal or interest payments prior to maturity at June 30, 2017. The new $10 million and the original $30 million (“Senior Secured Debt”) are both secured by the underlying assets of the Company, including all landholdings and infrastructure. The credit agreement also now provides that in the case of certain asset sales unrelated to the Water Project, the company would retain for working capital purposes up to 50% of the first $10 million of sales, with the remainder requiring mandatory prepayment of the Senior Secured Debt. In addition, as part of this transaction, the company issued 700,000 shares of Cadiz Inc. common stock to MSD Credit, subject to certain restrictions on resale.

Founded in 1983, Cadiz Inc. is a publicly-held renewable resources company that owns 70 square miles of property with significant water resources in Southern California.