Waymo closed a $5 billion loan from a group of high-profile lenders including PIMCO, Blackstone and Sixth Street, the company’s first debt financing. Other lenders include Capital Group, Loomis Sayles, T. Rowe Price, Apollo, Blue Owl, Diameter Capital Partners, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Management and Research, HPS Investment Partners and Oaktree, with Goldman Sachs as sole lead bookrunner. Waymo said the financing strengthens its balance sheet as it scales a “proven” commercial business.
The company now runs robotaxi services in 15 markets, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, and is testing in London and Tokyo with launches planned. The debt raise follows a $16 billion February equity round that pushed Waymo’s valuation to $126 billion, led by Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global and Sequoia Capital with Alphabet still the majority investor.