The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. Announces Plans by Parent Company to Raise $300 Million

SOUTH DEERFIELD, Mass., Feb. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. ("Yankee Candle" or the "Company") announced today that its indirect parent, YCC Holdings LLC ("YCC Holdings"), intends to issue $300 million of senior notes (the "Notes") in a private placement transaction.  

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101110/YANKEECANDLELOGO )

The Notes will be offered to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and to certain persons outside of the U.S. pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act.  The Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state or other securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

YCC Holdings intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the Notes, after deducting estimated initial purchasers' discounts, to make a distribution to holders of the Class A common units of Yankee Candle Investments LLC, YCC Holdings' parent company ("Parent").  YCC Holdings may also use a portion of the net proceeds to make payments to certain members of Yankee Candle management that hold equity in Parent and pay related transaction fees and expenses to the extent it does not elect to pay these amounts from cash distributed to YCC Holdings as a dividend from Yankee Candle.

This press release is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell any securities.

This press release may contain certain information constituting "forward-looking statements" for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the statements contained herein with respect to management's current estimates of the Company's financial and operating results and any other statements concerning the Company's or management's plans, objectives, goals, strategies, expectations, estimates, beliefs or projections, or any other statements concerning future performance or events.  Actual results could differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the following: risks associated with the current economic conditions and uncertain future outlook, including the credit and liquidity crisis; risks associated with customized manufacturing and distribution facilities; the inability to grow our business as planned; increases in the cost of wax; risks associated with competition in the giftware industry; risks associated with a material decline in consumers' discretionary income; compliance with environmental laws and regulations; the inability to successfully open new stores; the loss or significant deterioration in the financial condition of wholesale customers; risks associated with the bankruptcy of wholesale customers; risks associated with our use of third-party fulfillment providers to supply goods to certain of our customers; disruption of product supply; the inability of counterparties to the Company's senior secured credit facility and interest rate swaps to fulfill their obligations thereunder; risks associated with our dependence upon one industry; the loss of senior executive officers or the inability to attract and retain talent; the impact of pre-tax, non-cash impairment charges related to goodwill and other intangible assets; risks associated with our international operations; and the impact of seasonal and quarterly fluctuations on our business.  Any forward-looking statements represent our views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date.  While we may elect to update certain forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so even if experience or future events may cause the views contained in any forward-looking statements to change.

SOURCE The Yankee Candle Company, Inc.