KKR & Co. and other investors in haircare giant Wella Corp. are set to extract one of the largest-ever dividend payments taken in Europe’s leveraged loan market.
The shareholders are in line for a $989 million-equivalent payment from the Geneva-based company, according to people familiar with the matter who weren’t authorized to speak publicly. This is the biggest dividend to be taken in the region since 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
They’ll raise the cash by refinancing an existing $1.2 billion loan, raising the total amount to the equivalent of $1.8 billion in Europe’s leveraged loan market, in addition to gathering funds from other sources. That will releverage Wella’s credit to around 4.6 times earnings, from around 3 times after its previous financing.
Read more: Mint
