Blackstone has launched a private credit financing package exceeding $1bn for Signant Health, the Genstar Capital-backed provider of digital data solutions for clinical trials, as private lenders continue to displace banks in the leveraged loan market.

The debt package comprises a unitranche facility, a delayed-draw term loan, and a revolving credit line, priced at 4.75 percentage points over the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR). Blackstone is expected to retain more than half of the total exposure, with other direct lenders joining at a later stage, according to Bloomberg.

The refinancing replaces more than $1bn in existing bank-led loans. Signant previously repriced its $968m first-lien debt in December 2024 through Jefferies Financial Group, lowering its spread to 4.25 percentage points from 5. The company also carries $230m in second-lien term debt and an $80m revolving credit facility.

The transaction highlights private credit’s growing role in leveraged finance, as direct lenders increasingly compete with investment banks for corporate refinancing mandates. JPMorgan Chase research shows that private credit firms have refinanced $37.1bn in debt from the syndicated loan market this year, with $34.7bn moving in the opposite direction.

Genstar Capital acquired Signant, then known as CRF Health, in 2018 and merged it with Bracket, another portfolio company, to create one of the leading providers of digital trial management solutions in the life sciences sector.

Blackstone’s financing underscores the firm’s continued dominance in private credit markets, where it manages one of the world’s largest direct lending platforms.

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