SPAC IPOs are down, SPAC acquisitions are up Download PitchBook’s Report here. SPAC IPO volume is down considerably in mid-2021. A decline was probably inevitable, considering how massive Q1 volume turned out to be. Between Q1 and Q2, a new PitchBook analyst note shows a 67% decline in SPAC IPO count and 81% fall in aggregate…
Consumer discretionary and information tech top PD As an industry, consumer discretionary has seen the largest number of private debt deals in North America since 2011, with 1768 deals and aggregate deal value of $265.7bn. This is only slightly more deals than industrials, which saw 1757 deals, but reached an aggregate deal value of just…
Canada calling The Canadian market is relatively small but trends point to significant future growth. For a long time, a handful of domestic banks have dominated the private debt market in Canada. But that is slowly starting to change. Fund managers, both local and foreign, want a bigger piece of the pie and are beefing…
First-time fundraising bouncing back Download PitchBook’s Report here. Middle market fundraising posted a strong showing in H1, according to PitchBook’s latest US Middle Market Report. $68.4 billion was raised through June, which puts 2021 on pace to approach the 2019 record. Even if it doesn’t, the middle market is set to bounce back from a decline…
BDC newly originated second lien exposure climbs in 2Q21 BDC’s increased their second lien exposure to 12.1% of new originations in 2Q21, up from the 7.5% tracked in 1Q21. In comparison, first lien assets were relatively flat at 71.6% of originations, while equity positions slipped to 10%. At the fund level, second lien originations as a…
North America PD Deal Value Rebounds in 2021 The private debt industry in North America is on track to beat last year’s number of deals and has already outpaced 2020 in aggregate deal value. So far in 2021, the region has seen 339 deals with an aggregate deal value of $105.5bn… Subscribe to Read MoreAlready
Europe is also heating up It’s not just the US seeing transaction activity hit the heights. The leveraged buyout market is helping to create a boom in Europe, too. In last week’s edition of Lead Left, we reflected in this column on the “white hot” US deals market. In Europe, it’s a similar story, with…
Unitranches continue to grow in size and scale The size and depth of the direct lending market has grown dramatically in recent years, with mega unitranches increasing in frequency. These larger deals have helped private lenders take market share from the broadly syndicated market and highlighted their growing scale. Back in 2019, there were 13…
Another frenetic quarter for the middle market Download PitchBook’s Report here. PitchBook’s latest US Middle Market Report was released today. The frenetic pace of dealmaking continued into the second quarter, reaching an estimated $142.8 billion. That would mark the second highest quarterly total on record, behind Q4 2020’s $156.8 billion. Sandwiched between those two was a…
Dry powder levels indicate healthy competition in PD Levels of dry powder in private debt have reached 35% across five main strategies (direct lending, distressed debt, mezzanine, special situations and venture debt) in Q2 2021, with funds sitting on $364bn. This indicates that, based on a three-year fundraising cycle, capital raised is in balance with…