12/12/2013
RBS Citizens leads $100 million syndication for Palo Alto, Inc.
RBS Citizens leads $100 million syndication with Palo Alto, Inc.
BOSTON – RBS Citizens today announced the closing of a $100 million loan syndication with Palo Alto, Inc., of Denver, a leading franchisee of Yum! Brands restaurants. The company owns and operates 138 restaurants, including Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut locations, in California, Colorado and New Mexico.
RBS Citizens is serving as Joint Lead Arranger, Sole Bookrunner and Administrative Agent for this transaction. Other lenders participating in the transaction are Wells Fargo as Joint Lead Arranger and Regions Bank as Documentation Agent.
The $100 million credit facility includes a term loan to refinance existing debt and a line of credit that will be used to reimage existing restaurants and open new locations. The facility will also be available to finance future acquisition opportunities for Palo Alto.
“RBS Citizens has been a trusted advisor throughout this process, providing us with both solutions and flexibility as we move forward,” said Rob Alvarado from Palo Alto. “In today’s environment, having a strong financial partner is a competitive advantage. With support from RBS Citizens, we are in a better position to execute our growth strategy.”
“We are fortunate to have such a strong relationship with the leadership team at Palo Alto, Inc.,” said Armando Pedroza, National Director for Restaurant Lending at RBS Citizens. “Every day across their franchise, they demonstrate a deep commitment to customer service, a trait that has made them an industry leader.”
The RBS Citizens Franchise Finance Group is a national business focused on meeting the banking and financing needs of the Restaurant and Retail Petroleum /C-Store industries. With extensive industry expertise, RBS Citizens offers financing and the full range of traditional commercial banking products and services to multi-unit operators nationwide.
About RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is a $120 billion commercial bank holding company. It is headquartered in Providence, R.I., and through its subsidiaries has approximately 1,400 branches, over 3,500 ATMs and more than 18,000 colleagues. It operates a branch network in 12 states and has non-branch retail and commercial offices in more than 30 states. Its two bank subsidiaries are RBS Citizens, N.A., and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. They operate a branch network under the Citizens Bank brand in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Charter One brand in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. RBSCFG is owned by RBS (the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc). RBSCFG’s website is citizensbank.com.
