A&O Shearman has advised the global coordinators and the finance parties on LRQA's successful pricing of a EUR500 million term loan B financing facility. This transaction marks a significant milestone for LRQA as a debut borrower in the syndicated term loan B market during a complicated market period.
The financing was significantly oversubscribed, with investor demand exceeding available allocation despite ongoing volatility in the geopolitical landscape, reflecting strong market confidence in LRQA's resilient and cash-generative business model, its global geographic footprint across more than 150 countries, and its strong growth outlook underpinned by non-discretionary and regulated end-markets.
"The strong investor demand and oversubscription of this financing, despite a challenging geopolitical backdrop, is a clear testament to market confidence in LRQA's financing and this demonstrates that the syndicated market remains open for the right opportunity."
Shameer Shah
Partner
The A&O Shearman deal team was led by debt finance partner Shameer Shah alongside counsel Alex Charles, associates Swati Lal and Nishant Prasad and trainee Agapi Gavriilidi.
LRQA became a fully independent business owned by funds managed by Goldman Sachs Alternatives in December 2021 and has since grown into a leading global risk management business, providing certification, assessment, advisory, inspection, and cybersecurity services to over 33,000 clients annually across a wide range of mission-critical end-markets, including energy, manufacturing, food, transport, and professional services. The proceeds of the financing, together with a senior secured revolving facility, will support LRQA's next phase of strategic growth and platform expansion, including bolt-on acquisitions and continued investment in technology, data-driven capabilities, and innovation.