Pinnacle Agriculture Agrees To Credit Agreement Amendment

• Extends maturity of consenting lenders’ loans (the “Extending Term Loans”) under Pinnacle’s First Lien Credit Agreement dated November 15, 2012 (the “First Lien Credit Agreement”) by three years, to November 2021
• Provides interest rate increase for Extending Term Loans and modifies certain covenants and other provisions in the First Lien Credit Agreement for the benefit of lenders
• Amendment has been agreed in connection with a larger recapitalization transaction that is expected to raise over $125 million of new committed capital investment and reduce debt on Pinnacle’s balance sheet by approximately $200 million

Pinnacle Operating Corporation has entered into an amendment (the “Amendment”) to its First Lien Credit Agreement that will provide for, among other things, a three-year extension of maturity on the Extending Term Loans to November 2021, a 3.5% increase in the interest rate on the Extending Term Loans and certain modifications to covenants and other provisions in the First Lien Credit Agreement that are intended to benefit the lenders.

The Amendment was agreed to in connection with a financial recapitalization plan that will reduce Pinnacle’s overall debt, reduce cash interest costs, increase the Pinnacle’s liquidity and strengthen its overall capital structure (the “Recapitalization”). The Recapitalization is expected to reduce Pinnacle’s consolidated debt by approximately $200 million, reduce Pinnacle’s annual debt service costs by over $5 million and result in a capital infusion of more than $125 million into Pinnacle Agriculture Enterprises, LLC. The new capital investment will be provided by funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, LLC (“Apollo”), certain existing creditors of Pinnacle, certain members of the Pinnacle management team, and other new investors. The agreement to the Amendment by lenders holding over 90% of the Loans satisfies one of the conditions precedent to the Amendment’s effectiveness. The Amendment is also conditioned on, among other things, consummation of the Recapitalization, the agreement of holders of at least 90% of Pinnacle’s 9.00% Second Lien Senior Secured Notes due 2020 (the “Second Lien Notes”) to exchange their notes for new secured notes maturing May 15, 2023 and preferred stock, and an extension of 90% of the commitments under Pinnacle’s ABL facility to May 15, 2020. The Recapitalization and Amendment are expected to close concurrently on or before March 15, 2017.