Simpson Thacher represented the initial purchasers, led by joint book-running managers, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, in the sale of an aggregate principal amount of $350 million 5.000% Senior Notes due 2022 by Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (the “Company”). The notes are guaranteed on an unsecured senior basis by each of the Company’s existing and future domestic restricted subsidiaries that are guarantors or borrowers under the Company’s Revolving Credit Facility, which includes substantially all of the Company’s existing domestic subsidiaries. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the Notes, together with net proceeds from the termination of certain options and warrants, to finance the purchase of the Company’s 3.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2020 pursuant to a tender offer therefor, to repay amounts outstanding under the acquisition line of the Company’s Revolving Credit Facility and for working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.
Group 1 Automotive, Inc. is one of the largest dealership groups in the automotive retail industry in the United States with total revenue for the twelve months ended March 31, 2014 in excess of $9.2 billion. As of March 31, 2014, the Company owned and operated 191 franchises, representing 34 brands of automobiles, at 151 dealership locations as well as 37 collision service centers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.
The Simpson Thacher team included John D. Lobrano, Katerina Kousoula and Matt Gabbard (Capital Markets); Judy Yan (Tax); David Rubinsky and Alina Finkelshteyn (Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits); and Andrew Pagliughi (Blue Sky).