Anthology has completed a $1.3 billion, seven-year first-lien term loan wide of talk at pricing of L+525, with a 0.5% Libor floor and an original issue discount of 96.5 via a J.P. Morgan-led arranger group, according to sources. The loan broke for trading Oct. 22 in a 97/98 market. Astra Acquisition Corp. and Bruin MergerCo Inc. are the borrowers. Proceeds from the first-lien term loan, along with a $500 million second-lien term loan, will be used to finance the acquisition of Blackboard Inc. The new combined company will be majority-owned by Veritas Capital, currently the sponsor of Anthology. Leeds Equity Partners will own a minority stake in the company, as will Providence Equity Partners, currently the majority owner of Blackboard. The $1.9 billion acquisition was also supported by $757 million of new and rolled equity, according to Moody's. Additional debt financing for the issuer included a $140 million revolver. Anthology is a global provider of cloud-based software for higher education institutions. Reston, Va.-based Blackboard provides enterprise technology and solutions for the education industry.

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