Goldman Sachs Alternatives is leading a $3.5bn private loan to support the $8.4bn buyout of Clearwater Analytics Holdings, according to Bloomberg.

The lender group includes Ares Management, Blue Owl Capital, Antares Capital, and Apollo Global Management. The debt is being offered at a 4.5-percentage-point premium to the US benchmark rate.

The acquisition, announced on 21 December, is being led by private equity firms Permira and Warburg Pincus and is expected to close by mid-2026. Goldman’s private credit business initially provided committed debt financing before assembling the broader syndicate.

The deal comes amid heightened scrutiny of software valuations and AI-related disruption risks, which have pressured debt pricing across the sector. Nevertheless, the Clearwater financing, alongside a $1.4bn loan backing Hg’s buyout of OneStream, signals that direct lenders remain willing to support high-quality software assets.

For private equity sponsors, private credit continues to provide certainty of execution in competitive transactions. For lenders, the 4.5-point premium reflects both sector risk and continued demand for yield in large-cap sponsor-backed deals.

The transaction reinforces private credit’s expanding role in underwriting multi-billion-dollar buyouts, particularly in sectors facing cyclical valuation volatility but long-term digital growth potential.

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