MADRID: Citigroup Inc and Banco Santander SA are readying a debt package of up to €4bil (US$4.2bil) to back a potential sale of Spanish waste management company Urbaser SA.
The two banks are both advising on the process and offering the so-called staple financing to any potential buyer of the Platinum Equity-owned firm, according to people familiar with the matter.
With final bids due in early 2025, other banks are also working on debt financings to get a spot on the deal, the people added.
Staple financings can make a sale process more attractive as they provide potential buyers with certainty of funds.
However, staples are there to be beaten. With risk appetite back in Europe’s leveraged finance market as interest rates start to fall, bankers are now offering aggressive debt packages in an effort to land some of the hefty fees generated by buyout deals.
After a number of lean years, Europe’s pipeline of leveraged finance buyouts for 2025 is starting to fill up.
Urbaser is the latest to emerge in recent weeks amid signs of life coming back to the market, following debt packages for the take-private of Spanish pharmaceutical producer Grifols SA and the stake purchase in French drugmaker Sanofi. — Bloomberg
