Lenders resist KKR’s co-op ban in Stepstone carve-out financing

KKR-owned Stepstone has impressed lenders as a resilient market leader but buysiders looking at the deal had concerns about aggressive docs in pre-marketing and its heavy geographic concentration.

Founded in 1995, Stepstone operates a group of job classifieds brands, with around 550,000 average active job listings and revenues of around €1bn in 2023, it said. It has been part of Axel Springer since 2009, but is now being carved out again with KKR as majority owner and Axel Springer retaining a minority.

Banks have launched a €1.925m-equivalent dual-tranche 2031 TLB deal across euros and dollars to fund the buyout, with a minimum $500m dollar portion. The company will also raise a €300m RCF according to S&P.