Agribusiness Lending

Agribusiness lending has been a significant part of Chapman and Cutler's long history of representing commercial lenders.

We represent lenders in virtually every type of agribusiness lending transaction. These include secured and unsecured revolving credit and term loan facilities, letter of credit facilities, acquisition financing, international trade financing, construction financing, synthetic leases, recapitalizations, and consensual restructurings. We represent our agent-bank clients in every phase of agribusiness transactions, from initial structuring through syndication and documentation.

Our transaction experience is as broad as the world of agribusiness. Businesses financed in these transactions include crop production; fruit and vegetable processing, canning, and distribution; the production and distribution of agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides; the production and distribution of beef, pork, and poultry products; the wholesale and retail distribution of groceries and related products; plant and animal biogenetics; specialty food production and distribution; the production and distribution of dairy products; and the production of timber and timber products.

Related Practices

Representative Transactions

• Counsel to agent bank in a $600 million revolving and term credit agreement for a large agricultural grower and processor secured by all real and personal property
• Counsel to agent bank in a $210 million revolving credit facility for a West Coast grocery wholesale company secured by the working capital assets of the borrower and its subsidiaries
• Counsel to agent bank in a $175 million revolving credit and letter of credit facility for one of the largest poultry processing companies in the country secured by a portion of its working capital assets
• Counsel to bank in a $160 million single bank secured acquisition facility for a winery
• Counsel to agent bank in a $130 million synthetic lease to a Napa Valley wine company for vineyard acquisition and development and a $25 million synthetic lease for a wine distribution center
• Counsel to bank in a $117.5 million single bank secured (real and personal property) term and revolving facility for a tomato processor/commercial restaurant supplier
• Counsel to agent bank in a $95 million revolving credit and term loan facility for a producer and distributor of agricultural chemicals secured by substantially all personal property of the borrower and its subsidiaries and certain affiliates
• Counsel to agent bank in an $80 million revolving credit and term loan facility for an international processor and distributor of various grains secured by substantially all real and personal property of the borrower and its subsidiaries in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand
• Counsel to bank in a $60 million single bank secured facility (term and crop loans) for a group of affiliated wine grape growers
• Counsel to agent bank in a $46 million revolving credit and term loan facility for a chain of retail grocery stores located in the Pacific Northwest secured by substantially all real and personal property of the borrower and its subsidiaries
• Counsel to agent bank in a $45 million revolving credit and term loan facility secured by all personal property, including fishing vessels, and real property of a seafood processor and its subsidiaries
• Counsel to bank in a $40 million secured revolving facility for an almond processor with an export-import line
• Counsel to agent bank in a $30 million revolving credit facility to a pecan and almond processing company secured by certain personal property of the borrower
• Counsel to agent bank in restructuring a $325 million revolving credit and term loan facility secured by all real and personal property of a biogenetic company and certain of its subsidiaries, including stock of foreign subsidiaries and intellectual property in various South American and European countries
• Counsel to agent bank in restructuring a $255 million secured revolving credit and term loan facility, structuring and documenting a subsequent secured debtor-in-possession credit facility, and providing a post-bankruptcy secured revolving and term credit facility for a sugar company and its subsidiaries
• Counsel to agent bank in restructuring a $200 million revolving credit facility and structuring and documenting a subsequent debtor-in-possession credit facility for a fertilizer company secured by substantially all real and personal property of the borrower and its subsidiaries
• Counsel to bank in connection with non-judicial personal and real property foreclosure actions involving $34 million in revolving and term loans to a fruit grower/processor secured by personal and real property located in three states
• Counsel to bank in restructuring $17 million in term and crop loans with various corporate farming entities and modifying documents to obtain approximately 55,000 acres of agricultural real estate collateral
• Counsel to bank in restructuring $13 million in real and personal property secured revolving and term loans to borrower engaged in fruit growing, harvesting, packing, and shipping
• Counsel to bank in restructuring $10 million in various revolving and term loans to a tomato processing company secured by personal and real property of borrower