Penske and GE Capital Extend PTL Partnership to 2023
Investment Grade Ratings Received from Fitch, Moody’s and S&P
Penske Truck Leasing Co., L.P. (“PTL”) today announced that it has completed a series of transactions that include $700 million of new equity investments from its existing partners, Penske Corporation, Penske Automotive Group and General Electric Capital Corporation, and a new $1.0 billion five-year unsecured senior credit facility with a group of 17 financial institutions. In addition to increasing their investment in PTL, the partners have agreed to extend the term of the partnership to 2023.
PTL expects to use the $700 million of equity proceeds to retire existing debt while capacity under the new bank credit facility will be kept available to finance working capital and support the future growth of the business. PTL will continue to retain a credit agreement with GE Capital which, if not earlier repaid, will continue until 2018.
Brian Hard, President and CEO of PTL said “over the last 40 years, including 24 years in partnership with GE Capital, we have built an outstanding brand in the transportation industry. We are excited that our partners have increased their commitment to us by investing significant capital and extending the term of the partnership. In addition, we are pleased that some of the leading financial institutions in the world have agreed to provide us with a new $1.0 billion unsecured credit facility which reflects their confidence in the strength of our business model.”
PTL also announced that it had received investment grade ratings from three major rating agencies: Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poors. Hard added, “we’re very pleased that the rating agencies have recognized our company’s financial strength and long history of consistent performance. These strong credit ratings will allow us to consider additional diversified sources of capital in the financial markets.”
Penske Truck Leasing Co., L.P., headquartered in Reading, Pa., is a joint venture of Penske Corporation, Penske Automotive Group and General Electric Capital Corporation. A leading global transportation services provider, Penske operates more than 200,000 vehicles and serves customers from more than 1,000 locations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Product lines include full-service truck leasing, contract maintenance, commercial and consumer truck rentals, used truck sales, transportation and warehousing management and supply chain management solutions. To learn more about Penske’s products and services please visit https://www.gopenske.com/ and our “Move Ahead” blog.
By "Move Ahead" Staff
Penske currently operates an expanding commercial truck rental fleet of late-model prime movers from MAN and Western Star. The newly opened Melbourne location rents MAN TGS 540 and TGS 480 6x4 sleepers (b-double rated), Western Star 5800 6x4 sleepers (b-double and road train rated), and new to its fleet offering at the Melbourne location are Freightliner Coronado 6x4 day cabs (b-double rated).
Penske Truck Rental’s operation in Australia will initially consist of a 20-truck fleet of high-specification MAN and Western Star prime movers. Each unit will be professionally maintained to maximize reliability, fuel efficiency and availability.