Mercer Advisors Completes $1.9B Debt Refinancing
Mercer Advisors, a Denver-based registered investment advisor with $111 billion in client assets, has refinanced $1.9 billion in existing debt through a syndicated term loan with a seven-year maturity, marking its entry into the syndicated loan market, according to an announcement. It also added a $340 million revolving credit facility with a five-year maturity.
The refinancing will help drive further deals for the acquisitive Mercer Advisors and provide capital to invest in its people, wealth platform and client services, according to the announcement. The move follows a period of growth for Mercer Advisors, driven in part by what the firm reports as double-digit organic growth, excluding markets, for two consecutive years.
“Tapping the syndicated loan market for the first time is a milestone for our firm, and the reception we received from institutional investors speaks to the strength of the business we’ve built,” Gün Keresteci, chief financial officer of Mercer Advisors, said in a statement.
The Goldman Sachs-led debt raise was oversubscribed by funders, which included BMO Capital Markets and JPMorgan Chase, according to the announcement.
The deal lowered Mercer Advisors’ interest rate by 1.75 percentage points compared to its previous loan, with a further reduction to come as the firm pays down the debt, according to a spokesperson. That will help the RIA save about $35 million to $40 million in interest costs next year, plus $15 million in upfront financing costs, according to the spokesperson.
“This transaction puts us in an even stronger position to keep building a firm where clients can benefit from the full strength of our platform and advisors can do the best work of their careers,” CEO Dave Welling said of the refinancing.
In July, Mercer showed off some of its prior investment with the launch of Aspen 2.0, the second generation of its proprietary, unified operating system, which the firm has been developing for the past year and a half. The new version is artificial intelligence-native, which seeks to have AI agents work alongside human advisors.
Bloomberg first reported on Mercer’s move to refinance and add a credit facility.
Mercer is majority owned by private equity firms Oak Hill Capital, Genstar Capital and Altas Partners, with employees owning the remainder.
