Sep. 25 at 9:02 PM
$ALIT So, here is some interesting information. Private Equity, Blackstone, did not assume any existing debt from Aon Hewitt when it purchased the company's benefits and HR platform in 2017. The transaction was structured as an asset sale for cash, therefore, the debt associated with the business remained with Aon. The transaction was up to
$4.8 billion;
$4.3 billion in cash at closing and up to
$500 million in additional performance-based pmts. It excluded liabilities - Aon remained responsible for any debt tied to the divested platform. Private Equity saddled Aon Hewitt, renamed Alight, with billions in debt. Then, Blackstone, as the owner of Alight, sold its stake in Alight in a
$7.3 billion SPAC deal with Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp in 2021, which also took the company public, along with over
$4 bil in debt. Alight has paid down the debt to just over
$2 bil. So, per usual, Private Equity loads up the debt, sells its stake, and leaves the Public company burdened with huge debt
