Exchange Income, a Winnipeg-based diversified, acquisition-oriented company with operations across Aerospace & Aviation and Manufacturing, said it has closed a new C$3.5 billion credit facility, increasing total commitments by C$500 million from the prior C$3 billion facility.
The new facility replaces Exchange Income’s existing revolving credit arrangements and, according to the company, introduces more flexible terms and conditions. A key change is the move from a secured structure to an unsecured facility, which the company said reduces administrative requirements while improving flexibility as it continues to reshape its balance sheet. The facility’s maturity has also been extended to January 26, 2030.
Management framed the refinancing as a continuation of a broader capital structure transformation that has been underway for more than a year. The company said it has redeemed all of its outstanding convertible debentures, with the significant majority converting to equity, and that the resulting equity conversions have reduced aggregate leverage to its lowest level in more than a decade. With increased liquidity and what it described as conservative leverage, Exchange Income said it is positioning itself to pursue investment opportunities while maintaining balance sheet discipline.
The company cited multiple near-term drivers behind its decision to seek additional liquidity, including strong M&A opportunities, a recently announced contract expansion with Air Canada, and other organic growth initiatives. Leadership emphasized that the larger facility does not signal a shift away from its conservative approach to debt and leverage, but rather is intended to preserve financial flexibility and execution speed when attractive opportunities arise.
The lending group was led by National Bank Capital Markets as Administrative Agent, with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and The Toronto Dominion Bank serving as Joint Bookrunners. National Bank Capital Markets, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, The Toronto Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, and The Bank of Nova Scotia were named Co-Lead Arrangers. The broader syndicate includes Bank of Montreal, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Bank of America, N.A., Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., ATB Financial, Raymond James Finance Company of Canada Ltd., and Citibank, N.A.
Exchange Income said its strategy remains focused on disciplined acquisitions of profitable, established businesses operating in niche markets with durable cash flows and organic growth potential, supported by experienced management teams.
KEY QUOTES
“The successful completion of this enhanced credit facility furthers the transformation of the Corporation’s capital structure that has been ongoing for more than a year. The Corporation has redeemed all its outstanding convertible debentures, with the significant majority of those converting to equity. The equity from these conversions has reduced aggregate leverage to the lowest it has been in more than a decade and sets the Corporation up to use its credit facility to fund investment opportunities in front of it. Strong investment opportunities in M&A, our recently announced contract expansion with Air Canada, and other meaningful organic growth opportunities all drove the Corporation to seek increased liquidity at this time. This enhanced facility does not mean that we are changing our conservative attitude on debt and leverage. Maintaining a strong balance sheet has always been a cornerstone of our business strategy and that remains the case today. Our conservative leverage and increased liquidity have enabled EIC to move quickly when opportunities present themselves, and this enhanced facility provides us with the ability to continue to execute on our strategic initiatives.”
Mike Pyle, CEO of EIC
“I want to thank our credit facility members. We have strong relationships with our banking partners and truly appreciate their support. As a testament to the confidence our lenders have in our business model, the deal was materially oversubscribed and the lenders removed the requirement for the facility to be secured. The removal of security as well as the revised terms and conditions reduces administrative burdens and provides greater flexibility for the Corporation as we continue to position our capital structure for the next stage of our growth. Since EIC’s inception, prudent capital planning has been one of the keys to EIC’s success, and the enhanced credit facility provides us with the most available capital we have had in our history. Finally, I want to welcome JPMorgan Chase Bank and Citibank to our syndicate of lenders.”
Richard Wowryk, CFO of EIC
