Banks Ready Sale of $10bn Debt for McAfee Leveraged Buyout

Jan 20, 2022 | News

Banks are preparing to launch a $10bn jumbo financing backing the leveraged buyout of cybersecurity software maker McAfee, according to people with knowledge of the transaction.

An investor group led by Advent International, Permira Advisers and others agreed in November to buy out McAfee in a deal valuing the company at more than $14 billion including debt. Banks are now having early conversations with investors in the U.S. about pricing on loans to finance the deal and will soon officially launch the debt sale, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

The debt financing at the time the deal was announced was expected to include a $6.66 billion first-lien term loan facility, a $1 billion revolving credit line and a $2.32 billion senior unsecured bridge loan, which may be replaced with senior notes, according to a November press statement.

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Part of the financing will be denominated in euros and sold to European investors, the sources said.

McAfee is the latest jumbo cross-border financing to hit the markets and the latest buyout funding, as investors eager to put money to work in floating-rate debt are snatching up loans tied to private equity transactions.

Lenders to the deal include JPMorgan Chase & Co., Credit Suisse Group AG, Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc, Royal Bank of Canada, CPPIB Credit Investments, UBS Group AG and PSP Investments Credit, according to public documents.

Spokespeople for JPMorgan declined to comment. Representatives for Advent and Permira weren’t immediately able to comment.

PSP and investment funds managed by Neuberger Berman have agreed to provide the investor group with preferred equity, according to the November press statement.

Source: BNN Bloomberg

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