LP announces fourth amendment to credit agreement

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. one of the industry’s leading suppliers of oriented strand board and other building materials, has announced a $100 million extension to its revolving credit agreement with its lenders and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent.

Among other changes, the fourth amendment:

• Extends the maturity of the revolving loan facility from Sept. 10, 2012, to Oct. 14, 2016;

• Decreases the interest rate payable for certain types of loans;

• Permits LP to include in its borrowing base certain vendor managed inventory that was previously excluded;

• Increases LP's flexibility to incur and prepay certain debt; and

• Provides that the revolving lenders' second priority liens on certain assets of LP and its subsidiaries  will be automatically released in connection with the repayment of such other indebtedness.

"We are very pleased with this amendment and the strong support LP has received from our banks," said Mark Tobin, treasurer of the Nashville, Tenn.-based company. "This facility, as amended, provides LP with greater flexibility over a longer term and at attractive pricing. As we continue to navigate through a very difficult housing market, it is important to have the certainty that stable, long-term liquidity lines provide. We believe this to be crucial to our operations and investors as we move forward."