Strengthened balance sheet, enhanced flexibility, and extended maturity support disciplined capital allocation and 2026 execution

Key Highlights

• $1.38 billion committed facilities with extended maturity to November 2028 (from April 2027)
• Simplified capital structure, including elimination of borrowing base and goodwill-linked revolver
• Increased covenant headroom, improving financial flexibility and access to liquidity
• Improved alignment between capital structure and operational priorities, capital allocation and growth strategy

EDMONTON, AB, April 22, 2026 /CNW/ - AutoCanada Inc. ("AutoCanada" or the "Company") (TSX: ACQ), a multi-location North American automobile dealership and collision repair group, today announced that it has entered into an amended and restated credit agreement (the "Amended Credit Agreement"), providing approximately $1.38 billion in total committed facilities and strengthening the Company's balance sheet and financial flexibility. The Amended Credit Agreement is effective as of April 22, 2026.

"Entering into this amended credit agreement strengthens our balance sheet and aligns our capital structure with our strategic priorities," said Samuel Cochrane, Chief Executive Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer. "The increased flexibility and simplified structure enhance our ability to restore dealership performance and allocate capital to higher-return opportunities, including the growth of our collision platform."

The Amended Credit Agreement extends the maturity of the Company's senior credit facilities to November 22, 2028 from April 22, 2027 and reflects a revised facility structure, including a reduction in revolving floorplan financing capacity to $1.0 billion from $1.22 billion. The agreement also simplifies the Company's capital framework through the removal of the borrowing base and goodwill-based revolving credit structure, and includes updates to the pricing grid, increased financial covenant thresholds, changes to the definition of Bank EBITDA to expand allowable addbacks, and other administrative amendments. The credit facilities are expected to be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, and the refinancing of existing indebtedness.

Strategic and Financial Impact

The Amended Credit Agreement supports the Company's capital allocation framework and enhances execution of its 2026 operating priorities. The simplified structure increases financial flexibility and supports ongoing portfolio optimization, including the rationalization of non-core assets and previously announced strategic initiatives.

Increased covenant headroom, expanded Bank EBITDA addbacks, the removal of the borrowing base and goodwill-based revolving credit structure, and an extended maturity profile strengthen balance sheet resilience and enhance the Company's liquidity profile. This supports disciplined capital allocation toward higher-return opportunities, including collision platform expansion, with flexibility to redeploy capital as conditions evolve.

Financial Covenants

The Amended Credit Agreement includes the following financial covenant thresholds:

• Total Net Funded Debt to Bank EBITDA Ratio: 5.00x (previously 4.00x, temporarily increased to 4.50x for Q1 and Q2 2026)
• Senior Net Funded Debt to Bank EBITDA Ratio: 3.50x (previously 2.50x)
• Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio: 1.20x (unchanged)

Had the Amended Credit Agreement been in effect as at December 31, 2025, the Company's financial covenant ratios would have been as follows, compared to those reported under the prior agreement:

• Total Net Funded Debt to Bank EBITDA Ratio: 3.01x, compared to 3.44x
• Senior Net Funded Debt to Bank EBITDA Ratio: 0.63x, compared to 0.71x
• Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio: 3.76x, compared to 3.25x

Lender Syndicate

The Amended Credit Agreement was led by The Bank of Nova Scotia, as Administrative Agent and Sole Lead Arranger and Sole Bookrunner, together with a syndicate of lenders including Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, Toronto Dominion Bank, and ATB Financial.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements and information (collectively "forward-looking statements"), within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. We hereby provide cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result", "are expected to", "will continue", "is anticipated", "projection", "vision", "goals", "objective", "target", "schedules", "outlook", "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "could", "should", "plan", "seek", "may", "intend", "likely", "will", "believe", "shall" and similar expressions) and the financial outlook with respect to the transformation plan are not all historical facts and are forward-looking and may involve estimates and assumptions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors some of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict.

Forward-looking statements and financial outlook in this press release include: the expected benefits of the Amended Credit Agreement, including enhanced financial flexibility, increased covenant headroom, improved liquidity, and the Company's ability to execute its 2026 operating priorities, including capital allocation, portfolio optimization, and collision platform expansion.

Forward-looking statements and financial outlook provide information about management's expectations and plans for the future and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements and financial outlook are based on various assumptions, and expectations that AutoCanada believes are reasonable in the circumstances. No assurance can be given that these assumptions and expectations will prove correct. Those assumptions and expectations are based on information currently available to AutoCanada, including information obtained from third-party consultants and other third-party sources, and the historic performance of AutoCanada's businesses. AutoCanada cautions that the assumptions used to prepare such forward-looking statements could prove to be incorrect or inaccurate.

In preparing the forward-looking statements and financial outlook, AutoCanada considered numerous economic, market and operational assumptions, including key assumptions listed under Section 3 Market and Financial Outlook of the Company's Management's Discussion & Analysis for the three-month period and year ended December 31, 2025 (the "MD&A").

The forward-looking statements and financial outlook are also subject to the risks and uncertainties set forth below. By their very nature, forward-looking statements and financial outlook involve numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, both general and specific. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, as many important factors are beyond our control, AutoCanada's actual performance and financial results may vary materially from those estimates and expectations contemplated, expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements or financial outlook. These risks and uncertainties include risks relating to failure to realize expected cost-savings, compliance with laws and regulations, reduced customer demand, operational risks, force majeure, labour relations matters, our ability to access external sources of debt and equity capital, and the risks identified in (i) the MD&A under Section 12 Risk Factors and (ii) AutoCanada's most recent Annual Information Form (the "AIF"). The preceding list of assumptions, risks and uncertainties is not exhaustive.

Accordingly, these factors could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements and financial outlook. Therefore, any such forward-looking statements and financial outlook are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed throughout this press release and in the MD&A.

Details of the Company's material forward-looking statements and financial outlook are included in the Company's most recent AIF. The AIF and other documents filed with securities regulatory authorities (accessible through the SEDAR+ website (www.sedarplus.ca) describe the risks, material assumptions, and other factors that could influence actual results and which are incorporated herein by reference.

When relying on our forward-looking statements and financial outlook to make decisions with respect to AutoCanada, investors and others should carefully consider the preceding factors, other uncertainties and potential events. Any forward-looking statements and financial outlook are provided as of the date of this press release and, except as required by law, AutoCanada does not undertake to update or revise such statements to reflect new information, subsequent or otherwise. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or financial outlook.

About AutoCanada

AutoCanada's Canadian segment, which is classified as continuing operations, consists of 64 franchised dealerships across Canada, representing 23 automotive brands in eight provinces. AutoCanada currently sells Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jeep, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nissan, Porsche, Ram, Subaru, and Volkswagen vehicles. In 2025, its Canadian dealerships sold approximately 71,000 new and used retail vehicles. 

AutoCanada's Canadian segment also operates 33 collision centres ("Collision Centres"), supported by 26 Original Equipment Manufacturer ("OEM") certifications spanning 37 vehicle brands.

AutoCanada's U.S. segment is classified as discontinued operations as the Company progresses the sale of its U.S. dealership portfolio. This portfolio currently consists of 10 franchised dealerships representing seven brands in Illinois, USA. In 2025, AutoCanada's U.S. dealerships sold approximately 8,000 new and used retail vehicles.

Additional Information

Additional information about AutoCanada is available at the Company's website and on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca.

SOURCE AutoCanada Inc.