Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are leading the process, according to people familiar with the matter. A large majority of the financing is expected to be in the form of debt, with the rest equity, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

On an evening in late September, a few dozen wealth managers gathered at a $63 million French château-style mansion owned by Paris Hilton and venture capitalist Carter Reum in the exclusive Los Angeles enclave of Beverly Park.

Investment bankers in the US and Europe are bracing for potentially billions of dollars in total losses on big-ticket leveraged buyouts as they struggle to offload risky corporate debt that’s plunging in value amid a sweeping market selloff.

It looks likely billionaires and private equity firms will keep loading up companies with debt to turn them into dividend-paying ATMs.

When American Campus Communities Inc. announced the signing of a $1 billion sustainability-linked credit line in May, its executives decided to take a victory lap.

The biggest private equity firms in the U.S. are unleashing a flurry of new leveraged buyouts and debt-funded dividends, seeking to make up for lost time after staying on the sidelines for much of 2020.