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PDI Picks – 8/5/2019

Massive mezzanine lenders: the few, the proud While this year’s sluggish junior debt fundraising numbers partially reflect the hollowing out of mid-market mezzanine investments, they also illustrate big firms getting bigger. Mezzanine debt fundraising is off to a slow start this year, according to PDI data, once again showing the strategy’s reliance on mega-funds to…

Debtwire Middle-Market – 8/5/2019

Source: Cliffwater Direct Lending Index and BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Effective Yield The red line in the chart is the *Cliffwater Direct Lending Index (CDLI) current yield, which is based on the investment income of the underlying assets held by public and private BDCs. BDCs invest in middle market companies, and the Index…

High-water Mark

We instinctively knew making “Smooth Sailing” our commentary title last week invited retribution from the market gods. No sooner had we hit the “Send” button to our 50,000 subscribers when the latest round of tariffs on China was launched. Having lived through countless market bumps, our editorial staff decided to press on regardless with our…

The Pulse of Private Equity – 8/5/2019

PE firms boosting retail’s omnichannel strategies PE’s track record in retail has come under some hefty scrutiny of late. And buyout shops are taking the hint. At just over 40 deals closed through H1, PE firms are set to complete the fewest retail transactions since at least 2013. Although the headlines are hard to ignore,…