/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS SERVICES AND NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/
LAVAL, QC, Oct. 25, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. ("Couche-Tard") (TSX : ATD.A, ATD.B) announced today that it has priced an offering of (i) $300 million principal amount of 2.861% Series 1 senior unsecured notes due November 1, 2017 (the "Series 1 Notes"); (ii) $450 million principal amount of 3.319% Series 2 senior unsecured notes due November 1, 2019 (the "Series 2 Notes"); and (iii) $250 million principal amount of 3.899% Series 3 senior unsecured notes due November 1, 2022 (the "Series 3 Notes" and, together with the Series 1 Notes and the Series 2 Notes, collectively, the "Notes").
The Notes will be direct unsecured obligations of Couche-Tard and will rank pari passu with all other outstanding unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness of Couche-Tard. The offering of the Notes is expected to close on or about November 1, 2012.
The Notes are rated BBB- by Standard & Poor's, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
Couche-Tard intends to use the net proceeds of the offering of approximately $995 million to repay indebtedness outstanding under its credit facility used to fund the acquisition of Statoil Fuel & Retail AS.
The Notes will be publicly offered in Canada, under Couche-Tard's previously-filed short form base shelf prospectus (the "Prospectus"), pursuant to an Agency Agreement with National Bank Financial Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc., UBS Securities Canada Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., and Barclays Capital Canada Inc., as co-lead agents. Couche-Tard will also file with applicable securities regulators in each of the provinces of Canada a prospectus supplement to the Prospectus (the "Prospectus Supplement") relating to the offering of the Notes. Copies of the Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement will be available on the Internet at www.sedar.com.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the Notes in the United States. The Notes have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act or pursuant to an available exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act.
About Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is the leader in the Canadian convenience store industry. In North America, Couche-Tard is the largest independent convenience store operator (whether integrated with a petroleum company or not) in terms of number of company-operated stores. In Europe, Couche-Tard is a leader in convenience store and road transportation fuel in Scandinavian countries and in the Baltic States and it has a growing presence in Poland.
As of July 22, 2012, Couche-Tard's network comprised 6,109 convenience stores throughout North America, including 4,534 stores with road transportation fuel dispensing. At the same date, Couche-Tard had agreements for the supply of motor fuel to 357 sites operated by independent operators. Couche-Tard's North-American network consists of 13 business units, including nine in the United States covering 40 states and the District of Columbia and four in Canada covering all ten provinces. More than 60,000 people are employed throughout Couche-Tard's network and at its service offices in North America.
Through its acquisition of Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA, Couche-Tard also operates a broad retail network across Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark), Poland, the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), and Russia with 2,307 stores as at June 30, 2012, the majority of which offer road transportation fuel and convenience products while the others are unmanned automated service-stations (road transportation fuel only). Couche-Tard also offers other products, including stationary energy, marine fuel, aviation fuel, lubricants and chemicals. It operates 12 key fuel terminals and 38 fuel depots in eight countries as well as approximately 400 road tankers. Including employees at Statoil branded franchise stations, about 18,500 people work in Couche-Tard's retail network, terminals and service offices across Europe.
In addition, under licensing agreements, about 4,000 stores are operated under the Circle K banner in nine other countries and territories worldwide (China, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Mexico, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates).
For more information on Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., please visit: http://www.couchetard.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
The statements set forth in this news release, which describe Couche-Tard's objectives, projections, estimates, expectations or forecasts, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities legislation. Positive or negative verbs such as "will", "plan", "evaluate", "estimate", "believe", "expect" and other related expressions are used to identify such statements. Couche-Tard would like to point out that, by their very nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties such that its results, or the measures it adopts, could differ materially from those indicated or underlying these statements, or could have an impact on the degree of realization of a particular projection. Major factors that may lead to a material difference between Couche-Tard's actual results and the projections or expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements include the effects of the integration of acquired businesses and the ability to achieve projected synergies, fluctuations in margins on motor fuel sales, competition in the convenience store and retail motor fuel industries, exchange rate variations, and such other risks as described in detail from time to time in documents filed by Couche-Tard with securities regulatory authorities in Canada. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Couche-Tard disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking information in this news release is based on information available as of the date of the release.
SOURCE: ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD INC.
Raymond Paré, Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer
Tel: (450) 662-6632 ext. 4607
[email protected]
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