LRQA today announced the successful pricing of a new €500 million Term Loan B financing facility.
This refinancing transaction represents a landmark milestone for LRQA as a first-time issuer in the syndicated term loan B market and, despite the ongoing volatility in the geopolitical landscape, the financing was significantly oversubscribed, with demand exceeding available allocation.
The successful transaction reflects strong investor confidence in LRQA's resilient, cash generative business model, its global geographic footprint and its strong growth outlook underpinned by the non-discretionary and regulated end-market and will support LRQA’s next phase of strategic growth and platform expansion.
LRQA became a fully independent business owned by funds managed by Goldman Sachs Alternatives in December 2021. Today the business is present in over 150 countries providing certification, assessment, advisory, inspection and cybersecurity services to support clients navigate the dynamic and ever changing risk landscape.
This landscape is increasingly shaped by intensifying regulation, geopolitical uncertainty, and unprecedented investment across critical infrastructure, energy, technology and global supply chains - driving growing demand for independent assurance to help organisations demonstrate compliance, strengthen resilience and maintain their license to operate.
In response to this growing demand, LRQA continues to invest in deepening its global presence, both organically and via M&A, including in Asia and the Americas, and its suite of risk management services, including responsible sourcing, quality assurance, asset integrity, climate performance, safety excellence and digital trust. LRQA supports over 33,000 clients annually with such services across a wide range of mission critical end-markets including energy, manufacturing, food, transport and professional services.
LRQA CEO, Ian Spaulding, commented:
"This successful financing milestone marks an important step in LRQA’s growth journey and reflects strong confidence in our performance and future potential. It provides a solid foundation to accelerate our strategic priorities, including bolt-on acquisitions, while continuing to invest in technology, data-driven capabilities and innovation across our global risk management platform. With this long-term financing in place, we are well positioned to remain at the forefront of the risk management market and, most importantly, to continue delivering the highest standards of service to our clients worldwide."
LRQA CFO, Niall McCallum, added:
“We are delighted to see such strong levels of investor confidence in LRQA as a debut issuer. By optimising our capital structure, we are ensuring the business remains well-positioned to capitalise on market opportunities while maintaining a solid financial foundation. This financing enables us to accelerate our M&A pipeline and continue to invest into the LRQA platform, with a particular focus on AI initiatives, to stay at the forefront of the risk management industry.”
Goldman Sachs and KKR Capital Markets acted as Global Coordinators for the transaction. Goldman Sachs, KKR Capital Markets SMBC and HSBC served as Joint Physical Bookrunners.