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KKR Warns Internet Brands’ Lenders They Could Lose Access to Future Primary Deals If They Organize With Advisors
Internet Brands sponsor KKR has communicated to certain lenders to the marketing and engagement company that they should not organize with advisors, otherwise they may risk losing access to the private equity firm’s future primary deals, according to sources.
Even though Internet Brands posted revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth for the fourth quarter of 2025 and guided to increases in both metrics for fiscal year 2026, the company’s maturities starting in 2028, loan prices as low as the high 60s and AI impact are worrying investors, the sources said.
Holders of leveraged loans and high-yield bonds of stressed and distressed issuers have begun organizing earlier and earlier in recent years, especially since the beginning of the current liability management exercise era starting in 2020. They wish to analyze what the credit agreements and bond indentures allow the companies to do and how they can protect themselves against those maneuvers.
The company’s debt prices have slid since January over AI disruption fears. The average price for the company’s $2 billion term loan B4 due 2031 is 71 today, down from 81, according to Solve.
The company’s fourth-quarter 2025 revenue rose 8% year over year to $695 million and adjusted EBITDA increased 5% year over year to $273 million, Octus reported previously.
The company’s loans began to decline in the market after OpenAI launched a new AI chatbot that targets the consumer and enterprise healthcare sectors, sources said.
Internet Brands delivers digital marketing services across healthcare and legal verticals through both external and internal brands, including PulsePoint, MedScape, WebMD, FindLaw and CarsDirect.
Octus has published an update on Internet Brands following the release of its fourth-quarter 2025 preliminary earnings, available for lenders to the company HERE.
An estimated capital structure for the company as of Sept. 30, 2025, is below:
Internet Brands and KKR did not respond to requests for comment.
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