KnowBe4, the cybersecurity training platform owned by Vista Equity Partners, has refinanced approximately $1.46bn of private credit, tapping the syndicated loan market to reduce its borrowing costs, according to a report by Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the deal.
The new seven-year first-lien term loan, led by JPMorgan and KKR, priced at 375 basis points over SOFR with an issue price of 99.75, significantly undercutting the 775 basis points KnowBe4 had previously been paying on its privately arranged debt.
Proceeds will be used to refinance loans held by a group of private credit lenders, including Blue Owl Capital, Blackstone, and Carlyle, regulatory filings show. A previously discussed second-lien tranche – expected to price 225 basis points above the first-lien loan – was ultimately dropped.
The transaction highlights a growing trend of sponsor-backed businesses turning to the broadly syndicated loan (BSL) market to capitalise on lower financing costs and improved liquidity conditions. Fellow Vista portfolio company Finastra is also exploring a $4bn refinancing of its private credit facilities, as previously reported.
KnowBe4 joins a growing list of sponsor-backed issuers – including Alera Group, Avalara, and Kaseya – that have pivoted from private lenders to bank-led structures. Others, such as Flexera Software, have opted to stay within the private credit universe, attracted by looser covenants and greater flexibility.
The refinancing trend remains two-sided: JPMorgan analysts recently noted that $17bn of private credit has moved into syndicated markets so far this year – matched by an equal amount shifting in the opposite direction, underscoring an increasingly fluid landscape for sponsor-led financing.
