Blackstone leads US$2 billion private loan for data centre firm

BLACKSTONE led a roughly US$2 billion financing package to Park Place Technologies to refinance the company’s debt and to fund a payout to its private equity owners, said people with knowledge of the matter.

Blue Owl Capital also participated in the new financing, which includes a loan of around US$1.7 billion, a revolving credit facility and a delayed-draw term loan, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private transaction. 

The deal is a win for private credit firms against Wall Street lenders, who have recently convinced a wave of borrowers to swap loans they received from direct lenders for more affordable debt from banks. Among deals that direct lenders have grabbed from banks is a US$1.2 billion loan package to CentralSquare Technologies.

Cleveland, Ohio-based Park Place will use proceeds from the new deal to refinance a US$845 million first-lien loan that was initially provided by banks and syndicated to institutional investors, as well as a privately placed US$230 million second-lien loan, said the people.

GTCR and Charlesbank Capital Partners, the company’s private equity owners, will also receive a dividend payment, the people said.

Representatives for Blackstone, Blue Owl and GTCR declined to comment, while those for Charlesbank and Park Place did not immediately respond to requests for comment. LevFin Insights first reported some elements of the deal.

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Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR acquired Park Place in 2015, and later sold a stake in the company to Boston-based Charlesbank.