Bank of America and ING Barings last Tuesday launched syndication of a $405 million credit for WorldTravel BTI to fund the acquisition of SYNERGI, a business travel network. The transaction consists of a five-year, $165 million term loan "A" and a five-year, $240 million revolving credit facility. Both tranches are priced at LIBOR plus 2 1/2%.
Following the Jan. 9 acquisition, WorldTravel rebranded SYNERGI and renamed it TTC Global Network. "The deal should be beneficial to them," one investor stated. "They're acquiring a business that integrates into their core [business]; they could really make out well," he added.
Based in Atlanta, WorldTravel BTI is a business travel agency that services large corporations such as PepsiCo, DuPont and Deloitte & Touche. The company has 600 locations throughout the U.S. and supplies real-time flight information, hotel rates and maps to travelers. Calls to Tom Barham, cfo at WorldTravel BTI, were not returned. Bankers at B of A declined to comment and calls to bankers at ING were not returned.