Birks & Mayors Enters US$135M Credit Facility

On January 19, 2006, Birks & Mayors Inc. (f.k.a. Henry Birks & Sons Inc./Henry Birks et Fils Inc.) entered into a credit agreement with regard to a US$135 million senior secured credit facility made available by Bank of America, NA, as US administrative agent, and Bank of America, NA (acting through its Canada branch), as Canadian administrative agent, with a syndicate of lenders in Canada and the US. This new credit facility replaces the previous two separate credit facilities maintained by Birks & Mayors and its subsidiary Mayors Jewelers, Inc., prior to their recent merger. In addition to refinancing the existing indebtedness, the new credit facility will be used primarily to finance inventory, capital expenditures, working capital and for other general corporate purposes.

Birks & Mayors is a leading North American luxury retailer, designer, manufacturer and wholesaler of fine jewellery, timepieces, sterling silverware and gift. Birks & Mayors has 67 luxury jewellery stores, 39 stores operating under the Birks brand across Canada, and 28 stores operating under the Mayors brand in Florida and Atlanta, Georgia.

Birks & Mayors was represented in Canada by Stikeman Elliott LLP with a team comprised of Howard Rosenoff, Caroline Boutin and Benoît Lavigne, and in the US by Holland & Knight LLP with a team comprised of Patricia Hernandez, Asnardo Garro, Tammy Knight and Javier Alvarez.

Special local counsel to Birks & Mayor included Lee Bell-Smith and Kimberly Bungay of Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; J. Douglas Sigurdson of Aikins, MacAulay & Thorvaldson LLP in Manitoba; Brad Vance of MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP in Saskatchewan; and James McGuirk of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP in Rhode Island.

Bank of America was represented in Canada by Ogilvy Renault LLP with a team that consisted of Kevin Morley, Arnold Cohen, Serge Levy and Guillaume Beaupré, and in the US by Bingham McCutchen LLP with a team that consisted of Robert Barry, Jason Ketchen and Anne Bandes.