(Bloomberg) -- Ares Management Corp. and Blue Owl Capital Inc. are leading a group of private credit lenders providing $4.8 billion of debt financing for the acquisition of pharmaceuticals manufacturer Catalent Inc., according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The financing — one of the largest private credit transactions on record — will help fund the $16.5 billion acquisition of Catalent by Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of weight loss drugmaker Novo Nordisk A/S. The package is made up of a $4.2 billion term loan and $575 million revolving line.

The financing is one of the biggest ever arranged by private credit lenders and the biggest so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. It’s a win for direct lenders such as Ares and Blue Owl, which have faced renewed competition from banks in providing debt for large acquisitions and buyouts in recent months.

Ares also serves as administrative agent on the loan. Blackstone Inc., Apollo Global Management Inc., Oaktree Capital Management, HPS investment Partners, Golub Capital, Antares and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. also participated in the financing, according to the people who asked not to be named discussing a private transaction. 

Representatives from Antares, Ares, Blackstone, Blue Owl, Goldman Sachs, HPS, Novo Holdings and Catalent all declined to comment. Apollo, Oaktree and Golub didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The acquisition among the Novo-tied entities is meant to allow the Danish drugmaker to meet the surging demand for its weight-loss drug, Wegovy, and diabetes treatment, Ozempic, as competition heats up with Eli Lilly & Co. Lilly’s obesity shot Zepbound is predicted to become the best-selling drug in history. 

Under the buyout, three Catalent factories will be sold to Novo Nordisk for $11 billion. The financing will be used to support the remaining business outside of the factories, said some of the people.

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