CVR Energy, Inc. has announced that certain of its wholly owned subsidiaries have priced a proposed US$325 million aggregate principal amount senior secured term loan B due 2027. The loans under the facility will be issued at a price equal to 99% of their face value and bear interest at SOFR plus 4.0%, with closing expected before the end of the year. The proceeds of the loans under the facility are expected to be used primarily for capital expenditures, including the planned 2025 turnaround at the Coffeyville refinery. The company is also in negotiations for the potential sale of its interests in one of its midstream assets, with total consideration, if the transaction is finalised, approved and closed, expected to be under US$100 million. Such sale, if any is consummated, is expected to further enhance the company’s liquidity position.
CVR Energy also announced that it has entered into a new employment agreement with Dave Lamp, its President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of its Board of Directors, which agreement is expected to commence on January 1, 2025, immediately following expiration of his existing employment agreement, and end on December 31, 2026, unless earlier terminated in accordance with its terms. This summary of the employment agreement is qualified in its entirety by the terms of the agreement, which will be reported on a Form 8-K to be filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission within four business days of execution.
“As we discussed in our last earnings call, in light of current market conditions and our upcoming large turnaround at the Coffeyville refinery, we considered it prudent to further strengthen our liquidity and balance sheet. We are pleased with the positive feedback we have received relating to our potential facility and feel confident in our ability to successfully close the facility before year-end,” said Dave Lamp, CVR Energy’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “I consider these actions, as well as those announced in our last earnings call, as positioning CVR Energy to take advantage of improving market conditions when they occur, as I believe they will. I’m also pleased to announce that I have entered into a new employment agreement to extend my tenure as President and Chief Executive Officer of CVR Energy and Executive Chairman of CVR Partners’ general partner. I am proud of what we have accomplished over the past seven years and look forward to leading our companies into the future.”
2025 CAPEX outlook
The company also published its capital expenditure outlook for 2025 set forth below, which for its Petroleum segment and corporate and other businesses is generally focused on projects the company considers necessary to maintaining safe, reliable operations and projects currently underway that would incur additional costs by deferring completion such as the ongoing project to eliminate hydrofluoric acid from the Wynnewood refinery alkylation unit, which currently accounts for the majority of the growth capital spending planned for the petroleum segment in 2025. The petroleum segment capital expenditure outlook does not include expected turnaround expenditures of US$170 million to US$190 million, which is primarily associated with the turnaround at the Coffeyville refinery currently expected to commence in the first quarter of 2025. Growth capital projects in the fertilizer segment should primarily be funded through cash reserves taken at CVR Partners, LP over the past two years.