PlusServer owner BC Partners seeks sale via Jefferies as loan maturity looms

Jou Yu, Jelena Cvejic
15 August 2023

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BC Partners is trying to sell PlusServer with the help of Jefferies as it seeks to address the German web hosting business’ upcoming maturities, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Lenders have meanwhile appointed Houlihan Lokey as their financial advisor, the sources added. They have also been getting advice from Milbank, a third source familiar said. The creditors have organised in case a sale does not materialise in time, the first source added.

PlusServer has a EUR 50m E+ 350bps RCF (revolving credit facility) maturing this month and EUR 260m E+ 375bps maturing on 30 August 2024, according to Debtwire Par, a sister publication of Unquote.

The TLB (term loan B) was indicated at 40.75/43.5 on Markit on August 11th, when this article was first published on Unquote's sister publication Debtwire.

An approximately EUR 20m piece comprising both RCF and term loan facilities was put on the auction block in late June but the chunk did not trade, as reported.

PlusServer's RCF is subject to an 8.1x net leverage covenant tested on a quarterly basis when the facility is more than 35% drawn, as reported.

The company's performance has been under pressure for years due to structural changes in the industry. Its core managed hosting business segment faced competition from public cloud providers while its managed cloud services segment struggled with thin margins, as reported.

While PlusServer has managed to execute some cost savings, trading has worsened versus last year due to inflation, the first source said.

BC Partners stumped up a EUR 201m equity cheque when it acquired PlusServer in July 2017 for a EUR 391m EV, which was 10.9x FY17 expected adjusted earnings of EUR 36m. It funded the remainder with a EUR 190m seven-year term loan B paying Euribor+ 375bps with a 0% floor launched in September 2017. It repriced the TLB a few months later, with the incremental proceeds to be used for the bolt-on acquisition of Nexinto.

UniCredit and Societe Generale were mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners while IKB Deutsche Industriebank and Raiffeisen Bank were mandated lead arrangers for the TLB, according to Debtwire Par.

Biggest holders of the TLB include Carlyle Group, Investcorp and Bain Capital, according to CLO-i, a sister publication of Debtwire.

BC Partners, Jefferies, Houlihan Lokey and Milbank declined to comment.