CIT Northbridge provides US$60m asset-based revolver to Certified Origins

CIT Northbridge has provided a US$60m asset-based revolving credit facility to Certified Origins, giving the food producer additional financing capacity as it integrates operations and expands its North American business.

CIT Northbridge, part of First Citizens Bank, is the sole lender on the transaction, while Arch & Beam advised Certified Origins.

The financing brings asset-based liquidity into a business combining international sourcing with US production, a model that can create substantial working-capital demands across inventory, manufacturing and customer receivables.

Certified Origins is headquartered in Tuscany, Italy, with US production facilities in Newport News, Virginia, and Fresno, California. The company specialises in private-label and co-packed food products.

Chief financial officer Rod Hogan said the financing would provide additional flexibility as Certified Origins continues integrating its businesses and investing in North American growth.

The disclosed transaction is a US$60m asset-based revolver, although CIT Northbridge has not published the borrowing-base composition, advance rates, maturity, pricing or details of the assets securing availability.

Those omissions matter because the liquidity generated by an ABL structure depends on which receivables and inventory qualify for the borrowing base and the percentage a lender is prepared to advance against them.

Even without those details, the revolving format provides Certified Origins with a potentially flexible source of working capital. Unlike a fixed term loan, a revolver can generally be drawn and repaid as funding requirements change, subject to availability and the specific terms of the credit agreement.

That can be particularly relevant for food businesses, where purchasing, production and inventory requirements may move ahead of customer collections and where growth can increase the amount of cash tied up in the operating cycle.

The transaction also puts a single specialist lender behind the facility rather than a banking syndicate, potentially simplifying administration of the borrowing relationship.

For CIT Northbridge, the deal adds another middle-market asset-based transaction to a platform focused on financing companies that require structures built around operating assets and working-capital needs.

For Certified Origins, the US$60m revolver provides a new liquidity base as its North American manufacturing footprint develops.