Blackstone launches $5.5 billion F&R bridge loan
Reuters
Published Jun 26, 2018 08:54AM ET
Blackstone launches $5.5 billion F&R bridge loan
By Max Bower
LONDON (LPC) - Blackstone (N:BX) has launched a $5.5 billion bridge loan to support the pending bond issuance for its acquisition of a majority stake in Thomson Reuters’ (TO:TRI) Financial and Risk division (F&R), which is expected to complete later this year.
The $5.5 billion bridge loan is separate from an US$8bn equivalent term loan B portion of Blackstone's $13.5 billion loan and bond financing, which is also being shown to large institutional investors, Thomson Reuters LPC reported on Monday.
The financing package supports Blackstone's $20 billion acquisition of a 55 percent stake in Thomson Reuters' F&R unit, which includes LPC and IFR and is the largest buyout financing since the financial crisis.
The bridge loan includes a $3 billion, 7.5 year senior secured loan, which is split between $2 billion and $1 billion-equivalent euros, and an eight-year, $2.5 billion unsecured loan, which is split between $1.8 billion and $700 million-equivalent.
The structure mirrors the expected sizes of the bond tranches.
The senior secured tranche pays a margin of 400bp and the unsecured tranche has a margin of 625bp.
A 50bp commitment fee is included for tickets of at least $150 million on the secured tranche and 25bp is payable for all other ticket sizes.
The unsecured tranche has a 75bp commitment fee for tickets of at least $50 million and 50bp for all other commitments.
A call is scheduled for Wednesday with commitments due on July 9.
JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (NYSE:BAC) and Citigroup (NYSE:C) are lead arrangers. JP Morgan is also the administrative agent.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.