Blackstone, Ares Provide $5 Billion for Thoma Bravo WWEX Buyout

Blackstone Inc. and Ares Management Corp. provided about $5 billion in a private credit deal to finance Thoma Bravo’s buyout of third-party logistics provider WWEX Group Inc. and its merger with another portfolio company, according to people familiar with the matter.

The loan priced at 5.75 percentage points over the benchmark rate and was covenant lite, meaning there were no maintenance covenants in the deal, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private information.

Thoma Bravo plans to merge WWEX, which includes the Worldwide Express brand, with Auctane, an e-commerce shipping software maker. ...