// Morrisons owner CD&R plans to raise more than £1 billion to repay some of the financing it used to buy the supermarket

// CD&R paid £7 billion for Morrisons in the UK’s largest leveraged buyout in 10 years

Morrisons owner CD&R is looking to raise more than £1 billion to repay a portion of the financing it used to buy the supermarket last year.

CD&R secured Morrisons for £7 billion amid a bidding war with rival investment firm Fortress in what was the UK’s largest leveraged buyout in more than a decade.

It plans to raise £1.075 billion in senior secured notes, paying 5.5% for the five-year term, according to The Business Desk.

READ MORE: Morrisons £5.6m private equity debt likely to see prices rise

CD&R’s banks have already placed £1.2 billon of junior secured notes with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Earlier this month CD&R revealed it would look to sell £500 million of Morrisons’ property portfolio, including manufacturing and distribution facilities, just months after its takeover of the grocer completed.

At the time, Morrisons said that underlying quarterly profits for the three months to 30 January had plunged almost 10% to £316 million. It had warned that rising inflation could hit sales and profit growth in the year ahead.

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