Banks Prepare to Sell Debt Associated With Apax Acquisition of Finastra Unit

Banks are reportedly preparing to sell $1.2 billion of debt associated with Apax Partners’ acquisition of Finastra’s treasury and capital markets business.

Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and several other banks are working on the leveraged loan deal, which is expected to launch for syndication within weeks, Bloomberg reported Thursday (Oct. 16).

The deal was announced in May, and the banks have been waiting for up-to-date financials and ratings before going to market, according to the report.

Delays are not unusual in deals like this, the report said.

Banks are eager to sell the debt to institutional investors because credit conditions have improved since the deal was announced, and they don’t want to risk seeing a downturn in the financial markets, which have been volatile this year, per the report.

When Finastra announced in May that it is selling its treasury and capital management (TCM) business to Apax Partners, it said an affiliate of the private equity advisory firm will operate it as a standalone business.

Finastra CEO Chris Walters said in a May 19 press release that the sale will help the company “further launch our next phase of growth with a focused suite of mission-critical financial services software.”

“It will provide capital to accelerate our strategy and reinvest in our core business, while providing our award-winning TCM platform with the backing of an experienced, long-term technology investor to support its continued success moving forward,” Walters said.

In its own announcement of the acquisition, Apax Partners said that when TCM becomes an independent company working in partnership with the Apax Funds, it will be able to further invest in new product development, marketing and technology infrastructure to meet the evolving needs of its customers.

The company said TCM has a client base of more than 340 financial institutions, a suite of software products and long-standing client relationships.

“TCM is a robust, mission-critical platform with leading functionality and an impressive customer base,” Apax Partner Jason Wright said in the release. “We see significant potential to invest in technology, talent and customer relationships to accelerate innovation and growth as a standalone company, drawing on our 25 years of experience scaling global software companies.”