Private Credit Lends Extra $400 Million to Software Firm Enverus
TL;DR
Private credit lenders have extended an additional $400 million loan to Blackstone's Enverus, following a $3 billion loan in December, to support its acquisition of Spatial Business Systems. This increases Enverus' leverage to about 7.5 times debt-to-earnings, amid scrutiny in the private credit market over SaaS companies.
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Private credit lenders have provided a more than $400 million delayed draw term loan for Blackstone Inc.’s Enverus after supplying roughly $3 billion in December, according to people familiar with the matter.
Blackstone, which agreed to buy the energy data platform in August, was part of a group of lenders that includes Ares Management Corp., Oaktree Capital Management, Thoma Bravo, HPS Investment Partners and Antares Capital, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
The new loan will help support Enverus’ acquisition of Spatial Business Systems, an AI-enabled design automation platform for electric and gas utilities. The deal, disclosed this month without terms, is expected to close in the second quarter.
With the additional borrowings, Enverus is now leveraged at a ratio of about 7.5 times debt-to-earnings, according to another person familiar with the matter.
Representatives for Blackstone, Ares, Antares, HPS and Oaktree declined to comment. Representatives for Enverus and Thoma Bravo didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Firms in the $1.8 trillion private credit market have been under scrutiny due to their exposure to software-as-a-service companies, which investors fear may be rendered obsolete by the advance of artificial intelligence tools. Enverus refers to itself as “the only energy-dedicated SaaS platform.”
The original $3 billion term loan was accompanied by a $3.8 billion equity check from Blackstone, the people familiar also said. The loan priced at 4.5 percentage points over the benchmark rate and was covenant lite, according to regulatory disclosures. The original issue discount on the debt was 99.5, the people said.
Ares, Oaktree, Antares, Thoma Bravo, Blackstone and HPS were also lenders on that deal, along with Cliffwater, Jefferies and Mizuho. Representatives for those three firms either declined to comment or didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.