Blackstone secures UBS loan for Flow Control Holdings acquisition
UBS was mandated to provide undisclosed debt financing as Blackstone moves to acquire a controlling stake in the data center cooling supplier.
Blackstone has secured a first-lien term loan to finance its acquisition of a controlling stake in Flow Control Holdings, a supplier of components used in data center liquid-cooling systems, Bloomberg reported.
UBS Group was mandated to provide the loan, whose size and terms were not disclosed, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named. Blackstone agreed on Sept. 10 to acquire the stake from Audax Private Equity, which will retain a minority interest.
Flow Control also supplies components to the food, beverage and pharmaceutical sectors. The acquisition is expected to close by year-end, while the loan is expected to launch in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.
Debt financing for data center-related deals across investment-grade bonds, high-yield notes and leveraged loans has risen as hyperscalers including Amazon and Google parent Alphabet build AI infrastructure.
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US dollar debt financing for such deals has totaled more than $350 billion this year, according to Bloomberg data.
The deal adds to a growing pipeline of acquisition financings in the leveraged-loan market. About $92 billion in leveraged financing for US mergers and acquisitions is pending, according to JPMorgan figures.
A UBS representative declined to comment, while Blackstone and Flow Control representatives did not immediately respond.