AK Steel Corp. has entered into a new $1 billion, five-year revolving credit facility, or line of credit, with a group of lenders, the steelmaker said Thursday.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as the lead arranger, the company said in a statement. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Wells Fargo Capital Finance, LLC were “joint co-arrangers,” the company said.

“The new credit facility is secured by most of the company’s product inventory and accounts receivable,” AK said. “It replaces the company’s existing $850 million credit facility, which was set to expire in February 2012 and was secured by the same classes of assets as the new credit facility.”

Based in Butler County’s West Chester Twp., AK has a steel-producing plant in Middletown.