Goldman Sachs and Jefferies Prepare to Sell €1.5 Billion in Debt Backing Lone Star Financing

Banks led by Goldman Sachs and Jefferies Financial Group are preparing to sell €1.5 billion ($1.75 billion) in debt financing backing Lone Star Funds’ acquisition of Lonza Group AG’s capsules and health ingredients business.

The financing, which is expected to be fully euro-denominated, will include both term loan B and high-yield components, according to market sources cited by PitchBook News and Yahoo Finance. The debt is being arranged to support the CHF2.3 billion buyout of Lonza’s Capsules & Health Ingredients (CHI) division.

Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and UBS have been mandated to lead the syndicated debt financing for the transaction, which was announced on March 9, 2026. Under the terms of the deal, Lonza will retain a 40% stake in the CHI business and receive upfront proceeds of CHF1.7 billion.

Lonza has reported the CHI unit as a discontinued operation for the past two fiscal years. The division, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, produces capsules and ingredients used in medicines and food supplements. In 2025, CHI reported sales of CHF1.09 billion and core EBITDA of CHF270 million.

As part of the agreement, Lonza will retain preferential participation in a future exit of the business and expects total proceeds of CHF3 billion or more if it fully exits after Lone Star recoups a return equal to its initial equity investment. The closing of the transaction is expected in the second half of 2026.

The sale of the CHI business follows Lonza’s divestment of its specialty ingredients unit to Bain Capital and Cinven in 2021, which was backed by a cross-border bond and loan deal. That business was subsequently renamed Arxada.

BofA Securities and Centerview Partners served as joint financial advisors to Lonza in the CHI transaction. Lone Star declined to comment on the financing when contacted by LCD, a financial news service.