Emerald Holding markets $1B leveraged loan backing LBO by Apollo
Apollo Global Management is acquiring Emerald Holding and Questex, two B2B events businesses, in a $1.5 billion leveraged buyout backed by a $765 million term loan B and $300 million in delayed-draw tranches arranged by Barclays and other banks, with a $175 million revolving credit facility, combining the companies under a single platform and expecting closing in the second half of 2026.
Apollo is acquiring Emerald and Questex, two B2B events businesses, which will be combined under a single platform.
Lead arranger Barclays announced price talk for the Emerald Holding transaction that includes a $765 million term loan B and two delayed-draw tranches of $200 million and $100 million, which will trade as a strip, according to sources. Commitments are due by 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, June 16.
Price talk for the seven-year covenant-lite TLB is S+375-400, with a 0% floor and an OID of 99. That implies a yield to maturity of 7.82%-8.08%. Lenders are offered six months of 101 soft call protection.
Corporate and facility ratings are B/B2, with stable outlooks, and there is a recovery rating of 3 on the loan from S&P Global Ratings. Emma Buyer LLC is the borrower.
The deal backs Apollo Global Management's acquisition of Emerald Holding (NYSE: EEX) and Questex, two B2B events businesses, which will be combined under a single platform.
Barclays, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, UBS and Wells Fargo have committed to provide debt financing for the transaction, which also includes a $175 million five-year revolving credit facility with a springing first-lien net leverage covenant. The $200 million DDTL will be funded at close of the Questex acquisition, while the $100 million tranche will be available for 24 months and will fund M&A and earnout payments, rating agencies said. The equity commitment from Apollo funds totals $760 million. Closing is expected in H2 2026.
Apollo will acquire Emerald, an operator of B2B trade shows and conferences, for $5.03 per share and an enterprise value of around $1.5 billion. The company has been majority-owned by Onex Partners since 2013, and the firm owns more than 90% of the outstanding shares. Onex entered into a support agreement to vote in favor of the deal. Apollo will acquire Questex from MidOcean Partners. Questex is a B2B media and events company serving the technology, travel, hospitality and life sciences sectors.
Outstanding debt at Emerald includes a $511 million covenant-lite TLB due January 2032 (S+325, 0% floor) that was issued in January 2025 to refinance an existing facility and then repriced in August 2025 to lower the spread by 50 bps. BofA Securities is administrative agent. Questex has loans outstanding with private credit firms.