(Bloomberg) -- Banks and private credit funds are competing to provide as much as £1.75 billion ($2.3 billion) to back a possible take-private of Hargreaves Lansdown, people with knowledge of the matter said.
CVC Capital Partners, Nordic Capital and Platinum Ivy — a subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority — last month made an offer that values the investment platform at £5.4 billion. The proposal, which had been revised upwards after a previous offer was rebuffed, looks set to be unanimously supported by the board.
Leverage on the transaction is expected to be lower than a typical buyout as the UK regulator will likely impose a cap on the debt levels, said the people, who declined to speak publicly due to the sensitive nature of the deal.
A spokesperson for the consortium declined to comment, while Hargreaves Lansdown did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Private credit funds are an increasingly competitive source to back efforts to take companies out of public markets. Multi-billion dollar take-private deals in Europe for firms such as Dechra Pharmaceuticals and Adevinta have gone down the private loan route, as direct lenders tout the speed and certainty of execution of their type of financing.
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