Wabtec entered into new financing arrangements in connection with its pending merger with GE Transportation.

The new arrangements include syndication of a $2.5 billion senior unsecured bridge commitment and $400 million senior unsecured delayed draw term loan to fund the cash portion of the merger. The new arrangements provide that the bridge commitment will be reduced by any alternative financing that Wabtec arranges prior to closing, which may include additional loans or long-term notes. In addition, the company refinanced an existing revolving credit facility with a $1.2 billion senior unsecured revolver with a five-year term and refinanced an existing $350 million senior unsecured term loan with a three-year term loan.

Patrick D. Dugan, Wabtec’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said, “With these arrangements, we have syndicated the necessary financing for the cash portion of our proposed combination with GE Transportation and improved our long-term capital structure.  We appreciate the strong support from our banks and are pleased that the syndication was significantly oversubscribed, demonstrating the market’s confidence in the compelling financial aspects of the combination.”

Goldman Sachs Bank served as sole arranger and bookrunner of the bridge loan and joint lead arranger and bookrunner along with HSBC Bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, PNC Capital Markets and TD Securities on the revolving credit facility and term loan facilities. PNC Bank, National Association is serving as administrative agent.

Wabtec is a provider of equipment, systems and value-added services for transit and freight rail.