Article/Intelligence
Permira Wins Auction for Hg’s GGW; Blackstone Credit Leads €700M Cov-Lite Unitranche Club
Reporting: Oscar Laurikka, Maryna Irkliyenko Permira has won the race to acquire Hg’s German insurance broker Gossler, Gobert & Wolters Group, or GGW, sources told Reorg. The sponsor is financing the acquisition with a cov-lite unitranche at around €700 million paying Euribor +575 bps with an OID of 98, sources said. Permira is finalizing a line up of five-to-six club lenders, the sources added. Blackstone is leading the club, which will include Goldman Sachs, Golub, Hayfin, PSP and Park Square, sources said. Permira was admitted into the second round of the auction along with Cinven, GTCR and Centerbridge after submitting a first round bid Nov. 21, as reported. The cut-off for the second round was just shy of €2 billion, sources said. However, Cinven dropped out earlier this week, as reported. GGW is an insurance brokerage group based in Frankfurt. Its subsidiaries specialize in various types of insurance and mainly have medium-sized businesses as their clients. It employs 1,500 people according to its website. Blackstone, Goldman, Hayfin, Park Square and Permira declined to comment. Hg, Golub, PSP did not respond to requests for comment. Disclosure: Funds associated with Permira hold a majority interest in the parent company of Reorg.