Boston, MA 06/25/2014 (wallstreetpr) – J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), which is struggling to make itself relevant to customers and shareholders after years of missteps, needs money to manage its turnaround. Fortunately, the company recently closed a credit facility that will bolster its cash position.
The company closed almost $2.4 billion in senior secured credit arrangement, which is composed of $500 million in a loan term and $1.85 billion in revolving credit line. The retailer intends to use the loan to repay its cash-borrowing obligation in a previous facility. The revolving credit will support the company’s working capital and other expenditure such as general corporate purposes.
The latest financing deal involved Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Barclays PLC, which led the credit facility arrangement.
According to J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), the new credit arrangement boosts its liquidity during peak season by $500 million. The company’s CFO Ed Record further stated that the new credit facility was pursued to extend the maturity to several years, which enhances their liquidity position.
Improving performance
J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) appears to be managing a good turnaround thanks to CEO Mike Ullman. The retailer is witnessing sales improvement, and customer traffic has also increased. These are happening at a time when the company is running competitive pricing in its stores, but at the expense of profits. The company suffered a loss of $985 million in 2012 and $1.39 billion in 2013. However, the management is optimistic about the future.
Confidence among financiers
The confidence exuded by insiders at J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) has also been validated by financiers that have been moving closer to the retailer in recent times when though they could not touch it with a 10-foot pole in the past. As such, the newly announced credit line not only provides the company with more funds to manage its turnaround, but also validates confidence by financiers in the company.
