Walt Disney Co. Enters New $5 Billion Credit Agreement

Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Walt Disney Co. has entered into a new 364-day credit agreement with Citibank for up to $5 billion, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

The proceeds may be used for “general corporate purposes,” said the company in the filing. It follows — and is structured similarly to — the $5.25 billion and $3 billion credit agreements Disney entered into on March 6, which support its commercial paper borrowings and is also available for general purposes. The most recent agreement is scheduled to mature on April 9, 2021; the former two will expire on March 5, 2021.

These credit agreements come as Disney’s theme parks and resorts the world over are currently shut down in an effort to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. Its parks and consumer products division brought in more revenue than any other segment — $26.23 billion — in fiscal 2019, over 37% of Disney’s $69.57 billion in revenue last year. By operating income, parks and consumer products represented over 45% of Disney’s $14.87 billion in 2019 operating income.

For now, Disneyland and Walt Disney World remain indefinitely closed, and workers’ unions said over the weekend that the furloughs will impact 43,000 Walt Disney World workers. The furloughs have also hit Disney’s film labels, including Marvel and Lucasfilm. With movie theaters closed and all live sports currently on hold, its studio and media networks operations are now also facing considerable challenges in the near term. One bright spot for Disney in recent weeks has been recently launched streaming service Disney Plus, which just hit a milestone of 50 million paid subscribers.