Banks have initiated the sale of approximately $2.28 billion in high-yield bonds to finance Carlyle Group Inc. and Qatar Investment Authority’s acquisition of BASF SE’s auto coatings division. The transaction, structured as a leveraged buyout, involves underwriters offloading €1.95 billion ($2.28 billion) of subordinated debt to institutional investors. This marks a strategic shift for BASF, which is offloading a key industrial asset amid broader private equity consolidation in Europe’s chemical sector.

The deal’s scale underscores the growing reliance on junk financing for cross-border mergers, with underwriters targeting a 2024 IPO window for the divested unit.