Baker Tilly has dropped plans for a roughly $3 billion leveraged loan that was intended to refinance private credit debt and fund a dividend, according to people familiar with the matter. Processing ContentThe accounting services firm, owned by Hellman & Friedman and Valeas Capital Partners, held meetings with investors last month. Baker Tilly, which has previously used debt to fund acquisitions, sought to lower its borrowing costs at a time when interest rates are expected to stay higher for longer and a raft of junk-rated companies stare down looming debt maturities. Beyond refinancing its existing debt from direct lenders , Baker Tilly aimed to extract a dividend payment that could have swelled to as much as $1 billion, Bloomberg News previously reported . It would have been the largest dividend transaction in the non-investment grade markets this year.