(Bloomberg) -- A club of banks led by Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. has postponed the $5.4 billion buyout financing that was meant to launch this month to help fund Apollo Global Management Inc.’s acquisition of Tenneco Inc. 

The lenders have decided to launch the leveraged loan and high-yield bond offerings after the US Labor Day holiday, which falls on Sept. 5 this year, in the hopes that the later timing will provide a calmer backdrop for bringing in investors, according to people familiar with the deal who requested anonymity discussing a private transaction.  

The decision is in line with that taken by a different group of banks, which pushed back a $15 billion debt package for the buyout of Citrix Systems Inc. until after Labor Day as well, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.  

Debt markets have been volatile lately due to recession fears curbing investor appetite for riskier assets. Only a trickle of new debt deals have successfully come to market in recent months. Those have typically priced at a steep discount to par, leaving banks with millions of dollars in losses in some cases.

Read more: Banks Sound Out Investors on Debt for Apollo’s Tenneco Buyout

Representatives for Citi and Bank of America, which are leading the loan and bond portions of the Tenneco acquisition financing respectively, declined to comment, as did representatives for Apollo. A representative for Tenneco did not respond to requests for comment.

Apollo announced it would take the maker of mufflers and aftermarket auto parts private in February. Banks began to pre-market the debt package earlier this month, with the aim of launching the offering in the second half of July, though that timing was not certain, Bloomberg reported. 

The deal is expected to be split between a $2.4 billion leveraged loan, a $2 billion secured bond, and a $1 billion unsecured bond. It will also include a $630 million revolving credit facility to be held by banks. 

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