Bombardier has a new $1.1 billion U.S. unsecured credit facility led by National Bank Financial and Citigroup that refinanced a $1.4 billion deal set to expire in September. Francois Lemarchand, senior v.p. and treasurer, said the Canadian transportation company approached its lenders for just $1 billion but ended up with $1.1 billion because of oversubscription.
Previously the company needed the funds for cash and letters of credit, but Lemarchand said it just needs letters of credit and the company's needs are fairly stable allowing it to lower the debt it took on. Bombardier currently has $4 billion letters of credit outstanding.
Along with National Bank and Citigroup, 16 other banks are involved in the syndicate. "National Bank has been the house bank to Bombardier for the last 30 years and Citigroup has been part of the lending syndicate for a while," Lemarchand said. "They brought the right combination of structuring and at the time they had the better offer."