UPDATE 1-Silver Lake raises 1 bln euros in loans for Software AG takeover
(Adds details about loan pricing in paragraphs 3 and 4.)
LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Silver Lake on Tuesday raised a 1 billion euro ($1.10 billion) seven-year loan to fund its takeover of Germany's Software AG, breathing new life into the sluggish syndicated leveraged loan market.
The loan is split between 640 million euros and $405 million, paying a margin of 475 basis points (bps) over the benchmark rate, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters.
Banks including JPMorgan, Citigroup and Banco Santander originally marketed the loan at a margin of 500 bps, before tightening it to 475 bps during the syndication process.
The loan was also sold to investors at a price of 98.75 cents on the euro/dollar, implying a smaller discount than the initial 97 cents on offer when the deal was launched on July 17.
On July 20, the U.S. private equity firm announced it had secured a 84.29% stake in Software AG, subject to closing of the tender offer, adding that the transaction was expected to close in the fourth quarter pending regulatory approvals.
Software AG shares were last up 0.3% on the day in Frankfurt. They have fallen by 13% since hitting a multi-month high after Silver Lake's offer in April this year. (Reporting by Chiara Elisei; Editing by Amanda Cooper)
