Cracker Barrel lenders extend loan payback

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. said Friday that lenders have agreed to give the company more time to pay back a revolving credit facility and certain term loans, giving the restaurant chain operator greater flexibility for inventory management and cash flow.

Cracker Barrel now has access to $165 million available under a $250 million revolving credit facility until January 2013, instead of April 2011. The maturity of $250 million of $643 million worth of terms loans was pushed back by three years to April 2016. The interest rates on the extended portion of those loans are 250 basis points above the London interbank offering rate.

The company said it will update its fiscal 2010 profit forecast on Nov. 24, when it plans to release fiscal first-quarter results. Cracker Barrel now expects interest payments in 2010 of $48 million to $50 million, up from the $46 million to $48 million it had estimated in September.

Cracker Barrel, based in Lebanon, Tenn., runs restaurants and general stores with a country theme.