Kirkland & Ellis advised BPEA EQT on the debt financing for its $1.25 billion acquisition of Florida based sports education institution, IMG Academy. The deal represents a first-of-a-kind transaction where an Asian bank financing was used to fund a U.S. acquisition with no immediate nexus to Asia. Founded in 1978 as the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, IMG Academy today supports over 100,000 student-athletes across its suite of sports education services. The transaction closed in late June. The Kirkland team was led by debt finance partner Manas Chandrashekar, with support from debt finance registered foreign lawyers Brandon Ovington and Daniel Sharif. The team also included debt finance partner Andrew Idrizovic and associates Camila Bourguignon and Sean Magill and tax partner Mark Schwed and associate Kris Kania.