CD&R Bought $475 Million of Risky Debt for Its Own Roper Deal

Clayton Dubilier & Rice bought about $475 million of debt supporting its own purchase of a majority stake in Roper Technologies Inc.’s industrial operations business as a pull-back in risk-taking leaves banks struggling to offload loans for leveraged buyouts.

The private equity firm bought the second-lien loan from a group of lenders led by UBS Group AG that had agreed to finance the acquisition, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The banks are still stuck with about $1.5 billion of more senior loans on their balance sheets after they were forced to fund part of the buyout ...