Apollo, Blackstone Lead Reported $4B Private Loan for $10.6B Boeing Unit Acquisition

Spearheaded by Apollo Global Management Inc. and Blackstone Inc., a group of prominent private lenders and asset managers is assembling a $4 billion loan package to back private equity firm Thoma Bravo’s acquisition of several digital aviation assets from Boeing Co., according to third-party reporting and sources familiar with the transaction.

The seven-year loan is expected to carry an interest rate 4.75 percentage points above the relevant benchmark rate, said the sources. The financing is reportedly being structured as a unitranche, blending first and second-lien debt into a single facility, with Apollo serving as the administrative agent on the transaction.

Apollo has seemingly been involved in the financing for some time, including offering pre-agreed staple financing through its nascent private credit partnership with Citigroup Inc. Under that arrangement, designed to generate $25 billion in deals over five years, Citigroup sources opportunities and Apollo provides the capital. Citigroup also advised Boeing on the sale transaction itself.

Other major lenders participating in the loan reportedly include Ares Management Corp., Blue Owl Capital Inc., KKR & Co., and JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s private credit division. Sources cautioned that the financing terms and the final composition of the lender group are still being finalized and remain subject to change.

Illiquid private credit companies that might be associated with this rumored deal include:

• Apollo: Apollo Debt Solutions BDC
• Blackstone: Blackstone Private Credit Fund
• Ares: Ares Strategic Income Fund, CION Ares Diversified Credit Fund
• Blue Owl: Blue Owl Credit Income Corp., Blue Owl Technology Income Corp.

The significant financing supports Thoma Bravo’s $10.6 billion purchase of Boeing’s Jeppesen flight navigation unit, along with its ForeFlight, AerData, and OzRunways subsidiaries. Boeing confirmed the sale agreement in a statement Tuesday, following an earlier report by Bloomberg News.

According to the third-party reporting, representatives for the lending institutions and Citigroup declined to comment on the deal, while Thoma Bravo and Boeing did not immediately respond to requests for comment either.

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