Islandsbanki - ISB leads new long-term credit facility for Clearwater Seafoods

ISB leads new long-term credit facility for Clearwater Seafoods

Clearwater Seafoods Income Fund (the "Fund") and Íslandsbanki (ISB) announced today that the Fund´s subsidiary, Clearwater Seafoods Limited Partnership ("Clearwater"), has obtained approximately Canadian $48 million for 5 years from the Icelandic bond market, in an issue managed by ISB. The bonds were issued as part of Clearwater´s strategy to continue to diversify its debt profile and access longer-term debt.

The bonds are denominated in ISK, mature in 2010 and accumulate an annual interest of 6.70%. The face value of the bonds which have a senior unsecured status is ISK 2,460 millions. The ISK proceeds have been fully swapped into CAD, USD, EUR and GBP debt.

The financing will be used to reduce a corresponding amount outstanding under the Canadian $115 million secured revolving term debt facility that Clearwater currently has with its syndicate of five banks. The current term debt facility remains available to Clearwater.

This new debt facility fits into Clearwater´s strategy of continuing to term out its indebtedness and provides flexibility and liquidity in its´ capital structure.

Clearwater´s CFO Robert Wight commented: "We´ve had a business relationship with ISB for years and appreciate their knowledge in the global seafood industry. The issue considerably strengthens our long term funding and we´re pleased to have ISB manage the issue to Icelandic institutional investors."

About Clearwater
Clearwater is recognized for its consistent quality, wide diversity and reliable delivery of premium seafood, including scallops, lobster, clams, cold water shrimp, crab and groundfish.

About ISB
ISB is a leading financial group that offers universal banking. The bank has an office in Denmark, a branch in the UK, and wholly owns banks in Norway and Luxembourg. ISB is listed on the Icelandic Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of approximately USD 3.2 billion. ISB recently announced record profit for the first half of 2005. Total assets by end of June 2005 were USD 20.5 billion.

For further information: Robert Wight, Chief Financial Officer, Clearwater, (902) 457-2369; Finnur Reyr Stefánsson, Managing Director of Capital Markets, tel. +354 844 4464.




The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

This release was published on openPR.