Waymo is moving toward a debut loan north of $3 billion as it pushes to lead the robotaxi pack globally, according to people familiar with the talks. The borrowing would be unrated and may come with a margin greater than 500 basis points versus the benchmark. The company is aiming to lock it down within days, but negotiations are still active and the final terms could shift.
Pacific Investment Management Co. is among the lenders, alongside Blackstone Inc. and Sixth Street Partners, people with knowledge said. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is advising Waymo on the financing. Spokespeople for Waymo, Goldman Sachs, Pimco, Blackstone, and Sixth Street did not provide comment.
Waymo has leaned on equity to fund growth, including a $16 billion raise earlier this year that valued the company at $126 billion. As it expands its driverless fleet and faces rising AI costs, it is adding debt to the mix in a bid to mature its capital structure. The company also said last month it built a custom chip to lift robotaxi performance.
Waymo's target for this year is to run 1 million paid weekly rides across 20 cities worldwide. Today it already completes more than 500,000 paid trips each week across 14 U.S. cities and is preparing tests in more than a dozen additional markets, including London and Tokyo.
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For bond and loan buyers, this is a first chance to underwrite Waymo directly, a playbook other mobility names have followed. Uber Technologies Inc. tapped the leveraged loan market for the first time in 2016, raising $1.15 billion to fund expansion, then went public three years later and has come back to the debt well repeatedly since. If you are watching from the sidelines, the tells will be where pricing clears, how easily the syndicate fills, and whether Waymo hits its ride targets while rolling into more cities as it layers debt alongside equity.
