KKR & Co. Inc. finalized a $2.1 billion loan to help fund its pending acquisition of medical-device maker Integer Holdings Corp. after securing more-favorable terms, seizing on investor demand for leveraged-buyout financings. The loan’s interest rate is 2.5 percentage points over benchmark, according to a person familiar with the matter, as much as 0.5 percentage point less than initial price discussions. It was sold at par, after first being offered at a discounted 99.5 cents on the dollar, added the person, who asked not to be identified because they’re not allowed to speak publicly.

Bankers in the US and Europe are expected to offload well over $100 billion of buyout debt in coming months as M&A deals announced earlier this year get closer to completion. Just 15% of US leveraged-loan launches this year have been for acquisitions and buyouts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, helping create a buildup of investor demand for such debt. That as leveraged loans overall are handily outperforming other parts of the US credit market, boosted by the debt having floating interest rates and bond yields being on the rise. The asset class has returned 3.33% this year, a Bloomberg index shows, and there’s been inflows to loan funds each of the past 11 weeks, according to LSEG Lipper.

In the US, 22% of this week’s record $40 billion of launches were related to acquisitions and buyouts. They included loans to help finance the acquisitions of BGIS, Utz Brands Inc. and Nestle SA’s water business. KKR agreed last month to buy Integer, which makes everything from catheters to components for defibrillators, in an all-cash deal valued at about $5.7 billion. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year. Citigroup Inc. led the loan sale.