LBO leverage levels continue to loosen Debt to EBITDA levels on LBO deals spanning the entire market (including broadly syndicated and institutional middle market loans) are currently averaging 6.3 times when looking on a rolling last four quarter basis. This would make it the highest post-crisis average and second only to 4Q07’s average of 6.5…
A closer look at multiples Download PitchBook’s 2017 Annual US PE Middle Market Report click here. The debt markets have been white hot recently, providing a tailwind for private equity and helping prop up valuations across the middle market. While cheap money has been a plus overall, investors have had to cap their debt commitments…
Asia-Based Investors Surge into Private Debt The private debt industry has seen a steady increase in the number of investors active in the asset class in recent years. As the asset class has become more prominent and more distinct from the wider private capital market, institutions have begun to take more active involvement and allocate…
CLO AAA spreads continue to tighten in early 2018 Spreads for U.S. CLO AAA notes continue to tighten in early 2018 with the average AAA discount margin dipping south of 110bp in mid-February down from 113bp at the end of December. Thinner pricing has been led by Zais Group’s US$460m CLO which came to market…
Venturing into new territory Download PitchBook’s Report click here. It would have been hard to predict ten years ago, but private equity is becoming a prominent buyer of venture-backed startups. According to our 2017 Annual VC Liquidity Report, buyouts now account for almost a fifth (18.5%) of all VC-backed exits, up from about 14% in…
European Private Debt Deals Increased private debt financing over the past seven years can be largely attributed to the continuing retreat by banks from loan markets under the pressure of tougher capital rules. As a result, private equity transactions and corporate acquisitions, which were largely financed by banks in the past, are increasingly backed by…
iTraxx skew widens amid volatility Rates and equity markets are now embroiled in a tussle that has upset the pervasive complacency evident at the beginning of the year. Has this affected the credit markets? Naturally. The primary credit indices experienced considerable volatility; perhaps not as newsworthy as the VIX, but notable nonetheless…. Subscribe to Read
M&A loan financings comprise 30% of completed U.S. leveraged issuance this quarter The U.S. leveraged loan market continues to chug along at a steady pace. So far this quarter there has been US$110bn in completed leveraged loan issuance. The mix of deals comprises a healthy chunk of M&A. There has been US$33bn in completed leveraged…
How much potential is in the middle market? Quite a bit Download PitchBook’s 2017 Annual US PE Middle Market Report click here. The middle market continues to outpace the broader private equity market. According to PitchBook’s 2017 Annual US PE Middle Market Report, deal volume in the $100M-$1B range last year was about even with…
Private Debt Fundraising Momentum Private debt funds achieved final closures in 2017 faster than in any year since 2008, taking an average of 14 months to reach a final close. This is a sharp drop from 2016, when funds took an average of 19 months to reach a final close – the highest average of…