Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp. Closes $3.5 Billion Syndicated Bank Facility
Sears, Roebuck and Co. (NYSE: S) announced today that its wholly owned finance subsidiary, Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp. (SRAC), has successfully completed a new $3.5 billion syndicated bank facility. The committed 364-day revolving credit facility, which closed today, will replace SRAC's current standby bank facility. The new facility will be used to support SRAC's commercial paper program. The facility includes an option to extend the repayment of borrowings, if any, to February 2005.
The facility was co-arranged by Salomon Smith Barney Inc. and Banc One Capital Markets, Inc., which also acted as joint book runners, and was broadly syndicated among 34 participants. "We are pleased to have such widespread support among leading financial institutions," said Glenn Richter, Sears' senior vice president and chief financial officer. "The new facility was closed on schedule. Sears continues to be a well financed company with a strong balance sheet."
SRAC is a wholly owned finance subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck and Co. It raises funds through the issuance of unsecured commercial paper and long-term debt, which includes medium-term notes and discrete underwritten debt.
About Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. is a broadline retailer with significant service and credit businesses. In 2002, the company's annual revenue was $41 billion. The company offers its wide range of apparel, home and automotive products and services to families in the U.S. through Sears stores nationwide, including approximately 870 full-line stores. Sears also offers a variety of merchandise and services through its Web site, www.sears.com. In June 2002, Sears acquired Lands' End, a direct merchant of traditionally styled, classic Lands' End clothing offered to customers around the world through regular mailings of its specialty catalogs and online at www.landsend.com .
SOURCE: Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp.
CONTACT: Investor, Pam White, +1-847-286-1468, or Media, Edgar P.
McDougal, +1-847-286-9669, both of Sears, Roebuck and Co.