Chart of the Week

Chart of the Week - Europe on $50 million a Day

Fundraising for sixteen direct lending funds last year totaled just shy of $19 billion, nearly doubling the average 2014 fund size to $1.34 billion.                                     Europe Focused Direct Lending Fundraising by Year Source: Preqin

Chart of the Week - Head Start

By 2002 the share of US leveraged loans by institutional investors had surpassed 60%; it took Europe twelve more years to reach the same point. Institutional Investors’ Share of the Primary Market Source: S&P Capital IQ; 2009 date not meaningful

Chart of the Week - Hard Floors

While their share of European leveraged loans has steadily dropped to 31%, banks are still about where they were pre-crisis. Source: S&P Capital IQ; Primary Market by Broad Investor Type, 2009 date not meaningful

Chart of the Week - Tale of Two Markets

The volume of institutional leveraged loans in the US is over six times as large as that of Europe on average over the past fifteen years. Source: S&P Capital IQ; Annual institutional loan volume in US dollars

Chart of the Week - Docket Watch

The pipeline for institutional middle market loans is off to a slower start compared to last year, as sellers take a “wait-and-see” attitude on deal appetite. Source: Thomson Reuters LPC

Chart of the Week - Price Talk

Purchase price multiples continue to march higher for middle market buyouts as competition remains keen among private equity buyers. Source: Thomson Reuters LPC

Chart of the Week - Down Shift

Leverage declined modestly, though almost two thirds of 4Q deals were 6x total leverage or higher. US Middle Market Leverage Multiples on Institutional Deals Source: Thomson Reuters LPC

Chart of the Week - Assembly Line

CLO formation last year totaled $93 billion, off 2014’s record $124 billion, as managers wrestle with risk retention. US CLO Activity Source: S&P LCD