Key Takeaways
- • Partners Group-backed EyeCare Partners is nearing a creditor agreement that could cut its roughly $2bn debt burden by up to $400m, according to Bloomberg.
- • The discount reportedly reaches $300m–$400m in the most favourable scenario and shrinks if planned asset sales are delayed, disappearing entirely if the disposals fail.
- • EyeCare's sale of its optometry business to MyEyeDr, expected to close in Q4 2026 subject to regulatory approval, would fund repayments of $110m on a first-out revolver, $286m on a first-out term loan at par, and about $164m of first-lien second-out debt at a 12-cent discount, per S&P Global Ratings.
- • Lenders including Anchorage Capital, Diameter Capital Partners and King Street Capital Management would reportedly accept the discounted repayments.
Summary
EyeCare, which operates more than 700 locations across nearly 20 US states, announced the sale of its optometry business to MyEyeDr last month. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval. According to S&P Global Ratings, proceeds would be used to repay $110m on a first-out revolving credit facility and $286m on a first-out term loan at par, alongside approximately $164m of first-lien second-out debt at a 12-cent discount to par.
The company has reportedly also launched a distressed debt exchange that would allow participating first-lien second-out lenders to move into a new first-lien 1.5-out term loan. The restructuring includes options to extend payment-in-kind interest beyond early 2027 and push maturities beyond November 2028. EyeCare's existing first-lien second-out term loan totals almost $1.5bn, and the company also has more than $80m in super-priority financing facilities established during an earlier debt restructuring in 2024.
Partners Group acquired EyeCare in 2020 and has since faced mounting pressure to address the company's capital structure. Kirkland & Ellis and Centerview Partners are advising EyeCare, while an ad hoc creditor group is represented by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Moelis.
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