Paul Hastings advised Carlyle in connection with a strategic partnership it entered into with KKR to agree to purchase an approximately $10.1 billion portfolio of prime student loans from Discover Financial Services. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2024.
Carlyle’s investment in the portfolio was led by its credit strategic solutions team, a group within its global credit business focused on asset-backed investments. The highly experienced team seeks to leverage the knowledge, sourcing, structuring and breadth of the entire Carlyle investment platform to deliver tailored asset-focused financing solutions to businesses, specialty finance companies, banks, asset managers and other originators and owners of diversified pools of assets.
Shawn Kodes, co-chair of the asset-backed finance practice, led the Paul Hastings team, which also included partners Ryan LaForce, Kaitlin Kines, Matthew Nemeth, Jaime Madell, Ziemowit Smulkowski, and Michael Wise, with assistance from associates Maggie Chou and Lena Son.
