IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. ("Sabra," the "Company" or "we") (NASDAQ:SBRA) (NASDAQ:SBRAP) announced today that Sabra Health Care Limited Partnership (the “Operating Partnership”) has received commitments for an amended and restated unsecured credit facility that is expected to increase its borrowing capacity and improve pricing across the pricing grid. In addition, on December 7, 2015, Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”) affirmed its BB+ rating for Sabra and the Operating Partnership with a Rating Outlook at Stable.
Amended Credit Facility
The amended and restated unsecured credit facility (the “Credit Facility”) is expected to include a revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) and U.S. dollar and Canadian dollar term loans (collectively, the “Term Loans”). The Credit Facility is expected to increase Sabra’s revolving borrowing capacity to $500 million (from $450 million) and, in addition, increase its U.S. dollar and Canadian dollar term loans to $245 million and CAD $125 million, respectively (from $200 million and CAD $90 million, respectively). Further, up to $125 million of the Revolving Credit Facility may be used for borrowings in certain foreign currencies. Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility are expected to have a maturity date four years from the closing date of the Credit Facility and may be extended for two six-month periods at the Company’s option. Borrowings under the Term Loans are expected to mature five years from the closing date of the Credit Facility. The Credit Facility is expected to contain an accordion feature that can increase the total available borrowings to $1.25 billion (an increase from $750.0 million and CAD $140.0 million in our existing unsecured revolving credit facility and Canadian dollar term loan, respectively).
Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility are expected to bear interest on the outstanding principal amount at a rate equal to, at our option, LIBOR plus 1.80% - 2.40% or a Base Rate (which would be defined in the credit agreement for the Credit Facility) plus 0.80% - 1.40%, a 20 basis point improvement from our existing unsecured revolving credit facility. The actual interest rate within the applicable range would be determined based on our then applicable Consolidated Leverage Ratio (which would be defined in the credit agreement). In addition, interest on borrowings under the Term Loans is expected to be reduced 25 basis points across the pricing grid compared to our previous Term Loans.
In the event that Sabra achieves at least two investment grade ratings from S&P, Moody's and/or Fitch, the Operating Partnership would be able to elect to reduce the applicable percentage for borrowings under the Credit Facility to 0.90% to 1.95% for LIBOR and CDOR based borrowings and 0.00% to 0.95% for Base Rate borrowings as determined by the then applicable credit rating.
The Credit Facility is expected to close in mid-January and closing is subject to customary terms and conditions.
Fitch Affirms Sabra’s Rating of BB+
On December 7, 2015, Fitch affirmed the ratings of the Company and the Operating Partnership with the Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BB+' and the Rating Outlook at Stable.
Commenting on the Credit Facility and ratings affirmation by Fitch, Rick Matros, CEO and Chairman, said, “Both the improved Credit Facility and the reaffirmation from Fitch, in addition to the previously released stable outlook from Moody's, reflect Sabra's strength as a credit and provide added perspective to the circumstances surrounding the Forest Park investments. We're pleased with the support we have received from our lenders and the ratings agencies.”
Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc., a Maryland corporation, operates as a self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust (a "REIT") that, through its subsidiaries, owns and invests in real estate serving the healthcare industry. Sabra leases properties to tenants and operators throughout the United States and Canada.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS SAFE HARBOR
This release contains "forward-looking" statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified, without limitation, by the use of "expects," "believes," "intends," "should" or comparable terms or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements in this release include all statements regarding our expectations concerning the Credit Facility, including our expectations regarding the timing of closing of the Credit Facility and the pricing, capacity and other terms of the Credit Facility.
Our actual results may differ materially from those projected or contemplated by our forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including among others, the following: our dependence on Genesis Healthcare, Inc. and certain wholly owned subsidiaries of Holiday AL Holdings LP until we are able to further diversify our portfolio; our dependence on the operating success of our tenants; the significant amount of and our ability to service our indebtedness; covenants in our debt agreements that may restrict our ability to pay dividends, make investments, incur additional indebtedness and refinance indebtedness on favorable terms; increases in market interest rates; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; our ability to raise capital through equity and debt financings; the impact of required regulatory approvals of transfers of healthcare properties; the effect of increasing healthcare regulation and enforcement on our tenants and the dependence of our tenants on reimbursement from governmental and other third-party payors; the relatively illiquid nature of real estate investments; competitive conditions in our industry; the loss of key management personnel or other employees; the impact of litigation and rising insurance costs on the business of our tenants; the effect of our tenants declaring bankruptcy or becoming insolvent; uninsured or underinsured losses affecting our properties and the possibility of environmental compliance costs and liabilities; the ownership limits and anti-takeover defenses in our governing documents and Maryland law, which may restrict change of control or business combination opportunities; the impact of a failure or security breach of information technology in our operations; our ability to find replacement tenants and the impact of unforeseen costs in acquiring new properties; our ability to maintain our status as a REIT; compliance with REIT requirements and certain tax and tax regulatory matters related to our status as a REIT; and other factors discussed from time to time in our news releases, public statements and/or filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), especially the "Risk Factors" sections of our Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. We do not intend, and we undertake no obligation, to update any forward-looking information to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, unless required by law to do so.