KKR & Co. has lined up debt financing from a group of banks led by Jefferies Financial Group Inc. to help fund its buyout of publishing house Simon & Schuster from Paramount Global, according to people familiar with the matter.
The group of Wall Street banks will provide a roughly $1 billion leveraged loan, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private transaction. Ratings are expected in or near the B2 category on Moody’s Investors Service scale, or five levels below investment grade, though both the size of the debt and the ratings could change, the people added.
Representatives for KKR and Simon & Schuster declined to comment. Jefferies and Paramount Global did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The buyout valued at $1.62 billion was announced Monday, with Paramount Global saying it intends to use proceeds from the asset sale to reduce its debt load.
Read More: KKR Buys Paramount’s Simon & Schuster in $1.62 Billion Deal (1)
Simon & Schuster, a nearly 100-year-old business, publishes the works of authors such as Stephen King and Doris Kearns Goodwin. Paramount signed a $2.18 billion deal to sell the company to Bertelsmann SE’s Penguin Random House division three years ago. The US Justice Department sued to block the sale on antitrust grounds.
Author: Jill R. Shah
