McKesson Corp.'s medical-surgical unit has priced a $2.25 billion leveraged loan, clearing a key financing step ahead of its planned initial public offering.
According to Bloomberg, the six-year debt for McKesson Medical-Surgical Top Holdings Inc. carries a margin 2.25 percentage points above benchmark and was issued at 99.5 cents on the dollar. The loan launched nearly a week before pricing, with price talk tightened on Tuesday before the deal closed Wednesday.
The source of the pricing information asked not to be identified because the details are not yet public.
The loan represents a significant debt load for the unit as it prepares to stand alone as a public company. Leveraged loans of this size are typically used to fund operations, pay a dividend to the parent company ahead of a spinoff, or establish a capital structure for the newly independent entity.
McKesson Corp. is one of the largest healthcare distribution companies in the United States. Its medical-surgical division supplies physician offices, surgery centers, and other non-acute care facilities with medical products and equipment. The IPO would separate that business from McKesson's larger pharmaceutical distribution operations.
No date for the IPO has been announced publicly. The pricing of the loan is a standard step companies take to put financing in place before shares begin trading.
