Long-term debt |
Note 5 - Long-term debt: | | | | | | | | | December 31, | | September 30, | | | 2023 | | 2024 | | | | (In millions) | Kronos International, Inc. 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 | | $ | - | | $ | 391.7 | Kronos International, Inc. 3.75% Senior Secured Notes due 2025 | | | 440.9 | | | 83.9 | Subordinated, Unsecured Term Loan from Contran | | | - | | | 53.7 | Revolving credit facility | | | - | | | 25.0 | Total debt | | | 440.9 | | | 554.3 | Less current maturities | | | - | | | (83.9) | Total long-term debt | | $ | 440.9 | | $ | 470.4 |
9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 - On February 12, 2024, for certain eligible holders of existing 3.75% Senior Secured Notes due 2025 (the “Old Notes”) of our wholly-owned subsidiary, Kronos International, Inc. (KII), KII executed an exchange of €325 million principal amount of the outstanding Old Notes for newly issued €276.174 million aggregate outstanding 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due March 2029 (the “New Notes” and together with the Old Notes and the Additional New Notes (as defined below), the “Senior Secured Notes”) plus additional cash consideration of €48.75 million ($52.6 million). Holders of the Old Notes received for each €1,000 principal amount of Old Notes exchanged, €850 in principal amount of New Notes, plus a cash payment in an amount equal to €150. Following the exchange, Old Notes totaling €75 million principal amount that were not exchanged continue to remain outstanding. In connection with the exchange, the indenture governing the Old Notes was amended to conform to the restrictive covenants in the indenture governing the New Notes and to make other conforming changes. KII did not receive any cash proceeds from the issuance and delivery of the New Notes in connection with the exchange. We also entered into a $53.7 million unsecured term loan from Contran Corporation (described below) in connection with the exchange. On July 30, 2024, KII issued an additional €75 million principal amount of 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 (the “Additional New Notes” and together with the New Notes the “9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029”). The Additional New Notes are additional notes to the existing €276.174 million aggregate principal amount of New Notes issued on February 12, 2024. The Additional New Notes were issued at a premium of 107.50% of their principal amount, plus accrued interest from February 12, 2024, resulting in net proceeds of approximately $90 million after fees and estimated expenses. The Additional New Notes are fungible with the New Notes, are treated as a single series with the New Notes and have the same terms as the New Notes, other than their date of issuance and issue price. The proceeds from the Additional New Notes were used to pay down borrowings under the $300 million global revolving credit facility (the “Global Revolver”). The 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029: | ● | bear interest at 9.50% per annum, payable semi-annually on March 15 and September 15 of each year, payments began on September 15, 2024; |
| ● | have a maturity date of March 15, 2029. Prior to March 15, 2026, we may redeem some or all of the 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount thereof, plus an applicable premium as of the date of the redemption as described in the indenture governing our 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 plus accrued and unpaid interest. On or after March 15, 2026, we may redeem the 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 at redemption prices ranging from 104.750% of the principal amount, declining to 100% on or after March 15, 2028, plus accrued and unpaid interest. In addition, on or before March 15, 2026, we may redeem up to 40% of the 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 with the net proceeds of certain public or private equity offerings at 109.50% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, provided that following the redemption at least 50% of the 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 remain outstanding. If we or our subsidiaries experience certain change of control events, as outlined in the indenture governing our 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029, we would be required to make an offer to purchase the 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 at 101% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest. We would also be required to make an offer to purchase a specified portion of the 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 at par value, plus accrued and unpaid interest, in the event that we and our subsidiaries generate a certain amount of net proceeds from the sale of assets outside the ordinary course of business, and such net proceeds are not otherwise used for specified purposes within a specified time period as described in the indenture governing our 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029; |
| ● | are fully and unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally, on a senior secured basis by Kronos Worldwide, Inc. and each of our direct and indirect domestic, wholly-owned subsidiaries; |
| ● | are collateralized by a first priority lien on (i) 100% of the common stock or other ownership interests of each existing and future direct domestic subsidiary of KII and the guarantors, and (ii) 65% of the voting common stock or other ownership interests and 100% of the non-voting common stock or other ownership interests of each non-U.S. subsidiary that is directly owned by KII or any guarantor; |
| ● | contain a number of covenants and restrictions which, among other things, restrict our ability to incur or guarantee additional debt, incur liens, pay dividends or make other restricted payments, or merge or consolidate with, or sell or transfer substantially all of our assets to, another entity, and contain other provisions and restrictive covenants customary in lending transactions of this type (however, there are no ongoing financial maintenance covenants); and |
| ● | contain customary default provisions, including a default under any of our other indebtedness in excess of $50.0 million. |
At September 30, 2024, the carrying value of the 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 (€351.174 million aggregate principal amount outstanding plus €5.4 million of unamortized premium) is stated net of unamortized debt issuance costs of $7.1 million. As a result of the note exchange, in the first quarter of 2024 we recognized a non-cash pre-tax interest charge of $1.5 million included in interest expense related to the write-off of the deferred financing costs associated with the Old Notes. As of September 30, 2024, we have capitalized $7.9 million in debt issuance costs associated with the 9.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2029. 3.75% Senior Secured Notes due 2025 - At September 30, 2024, the carrying value of our remaining Old Notes (€75 million aggregate principal amount outstanding) is $83.9 million. In connection with the issuance of the New Notes in February 2024, the indenture governing the Old Notes was amended to conform to the restrictive covenants in the indenture governing the New Notes and to make other conforming changes. Subordinated, Unsecured Term Loan from Contran - As part of the refinancing of a majority of our Old Notes discussed above, we borrowed $53.7 million (€50.0 million) from Contran through the issuance of an unsecured, subordinated term promissory note dated February 12, 2024 (the “Contran Term Loan”). The Contran Term Loan is guaranteed by our domestic wholly-owned subsidiaries. Our obligations under the Contran Term Loan, and the obligations of the guarantors under the related guaranties, are unsecured and subordinated in right of payment to our Senior Secured Notes and our Global Revolver. Interest on the Contran Term Loan is payable in cash. Subsequent to the issuance of the Additional New Notes, in August 2024, the Contran Term Loan was amended to change the interest rate from 11.5% to 9.54%. The amended rate reflects the effective interest rate of the Additional New Notes plus an additional interest rate spread of 2%, which is based upon comparable debt transactions at the time of the issuance of the Additional New Notes. The Contran Term Loan matures on demand (but no earlier than September 2029), is not subject to any amortization payments and is prepayable at par beginning in March 2026. The restrictive covenants in the Contran Term Loan are substantially similar to those contained in the indenture governing our Senior Secured Notes. In accordance with our related party transaction policy, the audit committee of our board of directors, comprised of the independent directors, approved the terms and conditions of the original and amended Contran Term Loan. Revolving credit facility – Effective July 17, 2024, we completed an amendment to our Global Revolver (the “Second Amendment”). Among other things, the Second Amendment increased the maximum borrowing amount from $225 million to $300 million, extended the maturity date to July 2029 and expanded the agreement to include LPC and LPC’s receivables and certain of its inventories in the borrowing base. See Note 17 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Available borrowings are based on formula-determined amounts of eligible trade receivables and inventories, as defined in the agreement, less any outstanding letters of credit issued under the Global Revolver. Borrowings by our Canadian, Belgian and German subsidiaries are limited to U.S. $35 million, €30 million and €60 million, respectively. Any amounts outstanding under the Global Revolver bear interest, at our option, at the applicable non-base rate (SOFR, adjusted CORRA or EURIBOR, depending on the currency of the borrowing) plus a margin ranging from 1.5% to 2.0%, or at the applicable base rate, as defined in the agreement, plus a margin ranging from .5% to 2.0%. U.S. Dollar or Canadian Dollar non-base rate loans, as well as Euro non-base rate and Euro base rate loans are subject to a 0.25% floor, plus the applicable margin. The Global Revolver is collateralized by, among other things, a first priority lien on the borrowers’ trade receivables and inventories. The facility contains a number of covenants and restrictions customary in lending transactions of this type which, among other things, restrict the borrowers’ ability to incur additional debt, incur liens, pay additional dividends or merge or consolidate with, or sell or transfer all or substantially all of their assets to another entity and, under certain conditions, requires the maintenance of a fixed charge coverage ratio, as defined in the agreement, of at least 1.0 to 1.0. During the first nine months of 2024, we borrowed $148.6 million and repaid $123.6 million under our Global Revolver. The average interest rate on outstanding borrowings for the year-to-date period ended September 30, 2024 was 7.89%, and at September 30, 2024, the interest rate on the outstanding borrowings was 6.96%. At September 30, 2024, approximately $268 million was available for borrowing. Other – We are in compliance with all of our debt covenants at September 30, 2024.
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