Bombardier Sells Rail Business To Alstom For $8.2B
Bombardier (BDRBF) announced that it has made the strategic decision to focus exclusively on business aviation and plans to accelerate its deleveraging through the sale of its rail business. Bombardier has signed a memorandum of understanding with Alstom SA (ALSMY) and the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec for the sale of its Transportation business to Alstom.
Under the transaction, Bombardier and la Caisse will sell their interests in Bombardier Transportation to Alstom on the basis of an enterprise value of $8.2B. Total proceeds, after the deduction of debt-like items and transferred liabilities, including pension obligations, and net of BT cash, are expected to be approximately $6.4B, subject to upward adjustments of up to $440M. After deducting la Caisse's equity position between $2.1B and $2.3B, Bombardier would receive net proceeds of between $4.2B to $4.5B, including $550M of Alstom shares for a fixed subscription price of EUR 47.50, monetizable after a three-month lock-up post-closing, subject to closing adjustments, indemnities, and the EUR to USD exchange rate.
Bombardier intends to direct these proceeds towards debt paydown and will evaluate the most efficient debt reduction strategies. "Selling the rail business will allow us to reshape and redefine our capital structure. Adding a substantial amount of cash to the balance sheet, and removing la Caisse preferred equity in Transportation, will change the game for Bombardier," said Alain Bellemare, CEO Bombardier. "Including expected proceeds from previously announced transactions, Bombardier would have between $6.5 and $7.0 billion of pro forma1 cash on hand, putting the Company on a brand-new footing to address its $9.3 billion of debt." The signing of the MOU has been unanimously approved by each of Bombardier and Alstom's board of directors, and the transaction announced today is fully supported by la Caisse, who will become a new long-term shareholder of Alstom.
Disclosure: None.