JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are preparing an up to $3bn financing in the broadly syndicated market to back Warburg Pincus’ buyout of specialty pharmacy company PANTHERx Rare, according to 9fin sources.
The total financing would be in the region of $2.5bn-$3bn, the sources said, and will likely include a privately placed second lien component. The financing package would also include a preferred equity injection that’s over $1bn in size, sources added. Leverage on the total debt facility would be roughly 7x, they said.
The public market financing would be in lieu of a 7x levered package offered by direct lenders in the region of SOFR+500bps, sources said. The company presently has an Antares-led portable debt financing package, they added.
The broadly syndicated market has been an increasingly attractive alternative to private credit in recent weeks with issuers like DwyerOmega in the US and Vitamin Well raising both euro and dollar debt to refinance private debt.
PANTHERx has $300m of LTM EBITDA, and is growing over 30% a year, according to sources. It is being underwritten at an EBITDA north of $350m, they said.
Warburg announced that it had led an investor group to acquire a controlling interest in the company earlier this week, in a transaction that reportedly valued the company at over $7bn. 9fin first reported that the company was considering a sale last month.
Warburg, Goldman and Antares declined to comment. JPM and PANTHERx did not respond to requests for comment.
