It has been confirmed that Qantas Airways has mandated Barclays Capital, Citibank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and JP Morgan to arrange a A$1.4 billion multi-tranche facility.
Though not concretely set, the first tranche is likely to be a A$700 million stand-by facility split into maturities of one, three and five years. The second A$700 million tranche will likely be a 364 day term loan with a four-year term out. The pricing is rumored to be all in between 70bp and 80bp over BBSY.
This is the only syndicated loan on the market for Qantas, and hence has been described by one banker working on the syndication as a bank "relationship defining deal". That is, Qantas will be looking to sort out which banks are committed to the airline.
Qantas is currently undergoing a significant restructuring to reduce costs after reporting its first fall in profits since privatization in 1995.
The airline will begin a roadshow to promote the syndication loan offer, beginning with Sydney, then Singapore, London and Frankfurt.
