Cheesecake Arranges New Financing

The Cheesecake Factory Inc. has announced a five-year $200 million unsecured revolving credit facility. The Calabasas-based company entered into the agreement with JP Morgan Chase Bank, the administrative agent, Bank of the West, syndication agent, and Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank and Rabobank Nederland as documentation agents. The company used $150 million of the credit facility to repay an unsecured bridge loan credit agreement dated March 12, 2007. It said the remaining $50 million will be used to support standby letters of credit for the company’s self-insurance programs and for general corporate purposes. In connection with the latest agreement, signed last week, Cheesecake terminated its $35 million revolving credit and term loan facility with Bank of the West and transferred its outstanding letters of credit to the new facility.