(Bloomberg) -- Private equity firm Astorg is one of a small group of potential buyers that are lining up financing to acquire German drug business CordenPharma GmbH, according to people familiar with the matter.

In anticipation of a final decision, the bidders approached lenders for debt packages that range that could end up at close to 1.4 billion euros ($1.52 billion), depending on how a deal to supply biotech firm Moderna Inc.’s components for its Covid vaccine impacts earnings, they said, declining to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Either way, the financing will likely be about seven times Ebitda, which depending on how it is measured, ranges between 150 million euros to 300 million euros, they added. Advent International Corp and Apax Partners LLP are among private-equity firms that were looking at both public and private credit options, they said, although it’s unclear if they are still in the running.

Representatives for Apax and Advent declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for CordenPharma. Representatives for Astorg didn’t respond to an immediate request for comment, while a spokesperson for William Blair & Co., the boutique advisory firm retained by CordenPharma to manage the sale, also declined to comment. 

The bidders are in talks to raise cash by tapping either public markets or direct lenders, the people said, or a combination of both. While healthcare businesses are a traditional staple of the debt markets, this dual track approach to fund-raising has become more popular as the high-yield market undergoes its longest drought in a decade and leveraged loan flow slows to a trickle.

For sponsors it ensures competitive terms, while non-banks spy opportunities as public markets became more expensive. The buyers of both IVIRMA Global and Theramex drummed up support from investment banks as well as private credit funds. 

(Updates figure for debt package in second graph)

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.