The legal machinations of the CDS market are probably not the main concern of Portugal’s national government and its biggest bank. But the travails of Banco Espirito Santo (BES) are certainly capturing the attention of credit investors, not least because of its potential significance in a changing regulatory environment. BES has been under pressure since…
A company’s credit rating gets placed on review for downgrade, and its CDS spreads stage their biggest one-day rally on record? This appears like a contrarian market reaction, regardless of one’s views on the rating agencies and their performance in recent times…. Login to Read More...
Not that long ago, it would seem strange to see news of a private equity firm buying a venture-backed company; in today’s private company market, though, it is becoming a weekly, and almost daily, occurrence. In 2013, there were 102 of these deals. Based on the first half of 2014, we expect the year to…
The middle market is quite a diverse market place and yields vary based on lender type and EBITDA size. In 2Q14, moving down market to lend TLBs to smaller private middle market issuers resulted in a nice 70bps premium for first lien deals over rated, public middle market institutional deals. However, while there is a premium…
Cumulative CLO assets under management (AUM) increased to $335 billion in July with CLO AUM reaching $65 billion for CLOs with 2014 vintage. This figure is quickly catching up to the $81 billion in assets under management for 2013 vintage… Login to Read More...
European banks are no strangers to unpleasant shocks. The latest came from Portugal, where Banco Espirito Santo (BES) came under pressure following news that the Espirito Santo holding company – BES’s largest shareholder – had run into financial difficulties…. Login to Read More...
Despite all the talk of a “playground” in Europe for private equity buyers, we aren’t seeing the kinds of deal flow we might expect if we only read the headlines. We found a decline in buyout activity in the second quarter, which saw 261 control investments versus 332 in Q1. Second quarter deal activity didn’t…
Secondary Buyout Activity Secondary buyout activity seems to be declining somewhat thus far in 2014, with only 230 recorded in the PitchBook Platform. 2013, in comparison, saw 486, and 2012 logged the current record of 514…. Login to Read More...
Credit spreads in North America and Europe have been trading in a tight range throughout July, with investors waiting to see how earnings season unfolds. US banks are not the flavour of the month,… Login to Read More...
LBO volume is strong in 2014, already reaching $47 billion in 1H14 with a significant amount of deal volume in the pipeline. As private equity backed buyout activity accelerates, leverage levels have too…. Login to Read More...