Vicwest Inc. announced that it has negotiated a five year, $120 million revolving senior secured asset-based lending facility including a $25 million accordion feature, with a syndicate of lenders, co-led by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ("CIBC") and National Bank of Canada, that includes Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Nova Scotia. CIBC will serve as the administrative agent.

The new facility is available to finance working capital, capital expenditures and future acquisitions and replaces the company's existing $100 million revolving senior credit facility which was subsequently terminated.

"The ABL structure is much better aligned with our business due to both the seasonal nature of our agriculture and building products markets and our working capital requirements. One of the immediate advantages of the ABL is it gives us greater flexibility to purchase raw materials to manage commodity risk in our business, something that was much more restrictive under our prior facility," said Colin Osborne, president and chief executive officer.

The proceeds from the ABL were used to fully repay all outstanding loan balances on the company's senior revolving credit facility. The senior revolving credit facility was subsequently terminated.

"We are very pleased with the support received from the banking community and the confidence our lending partners have expressed in our business," said Rod Crawford, chief financial officer. "We look forward to the liquidity and flexibility available to us through the ABL as we drive growth and operating performance in the business."

Vicwest Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of engineered storage and handling systems for grain, fertilizer and liquid storage as well as building construction products for agriculture, commercial, industrial and residential markets.