Leather Factory Announces Credit Agreement With Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota |
FORT WORTH, Texas, March 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Leather Factory, Inc. (Amex: TLF) today announced an agreement with Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota, N.A. ("Wells Fargo") for a $7,500,000 credit facility. The credit facility replaces the Company's prior credit agreement with Wells Fargo Business Credit, Inc. ("WFBC"), an affiliate of Wells Fargo. The facility consists of a revolving line of credit and matures November 30, 2004.
Wray Thompson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Leather Factory, Inc. explained, "The new facility provides us with more flexibility than our previous arrangement even though we elected to reduce the maximum credit amount. We have made significant progress over the last year or so toward our goal of reducing, and ultimately eliminating, our debt while not limiting our ability to expand."
The Wells Fargo agreement provides for a more generous borrowing base calculation through an increase in the advance rate for eligible inventory. The interest rate remains at prime, although the Company may now elect to use the London interbank eurodollar market rate ("LIBOR") plus 2.60%. The financial covenants and collateral requirements in the new agreement are similar to those in the prior agreement in WFBC.
The Leather Factory, Inc., (http://www.leatherfactory.com ), headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is an international marketer and wholesale distributor of a broad product line including leather, leatherworking tools, buckles and adornments for belts, leather dyes and finishes, shoe repair supplies, saddle and tack hardware, and do-it-yourself kits, and is a manufacturer and distributor of fancy hat trims, leather lacing and kits. The Company distributes its products through 30 sales and distribution units located throughout the U.S. and Canada and through its subsidiary, Tandy Leather Company, via retail stores and mail/telephone/website orders (http://www.tandyleather.com ). Its common stock trades on the American Stock Exchange with the symbol "TLF".
This news release contains forward-looking statements, such as the statement regarding debt and elimination goals. All forward-looking statements made here or in other news releases issued by The Leather Factory, Inc. are based on current expectations as of the date of the release. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the results of The Leather Factory, Inc. to differ materially from management's current expectations. Many of these risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in TLF's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Tandy Leather Factory, Inc.'s business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.
|
Mar 20, 2002 |
|