Over five hundred registrants tuned in last week for our “Lead Left Presents” 2022 M&A Outlook webinar. Our four panelists crammed in a ton of great content into 60 minutes. Here are a few highlights. Last year was an “acceleration” of what we saw in 4Q 2020. Not just in sheer volume, but across a […]
We’re kicking off the new year next week with our first “Lead Left Presents” webinar. Four top middle market investment bankers will be talking about the deal market, what happened last year, and what’s to come for 2022. What’s motivating buyers and sellers? How did Covid impact processes and outcomes? How is extreme liquidity affecting […]
As we wrap up our special series on the 2022 private credit outlook, we turn our attention to #ESG. As our Chart of the Week highlights ESG is a fundamental concern of investors. How impactful it will be on manager behavior will depend on regulation and client demand. ESG in some form has been around […]
Inflation and interest rates are linked but not always in straightforward ways. Fear of higher prices can drive rates up, while markets may ignore actual inflation having anticipated it. Recent data has certainly created alarming headlines. Last Friday’s CPI report showed November’s consumer prices up 6.8% versus a year ago. Not since 1982 (when Joe […]
In April 2015 we introduced the concept of the “cargo-pants strategy.” For direct lenders to compete against banks for leveraged loans, they needed to hold larger commitments. So managers raised CLOs, separate managed accounts, commingled funds, and BDCs to create loan storage pockets. They could then allocate large commitments across vehicles without any one holding […]
At recent private credit conferences we’ve been asked how managers think about portfolio construction. Kind of depends on your experience over the past twenty-two months. As one private equity partner told us, “we had a base case and a down-side case, but we didn’t have a no-revenue case.” Consumer-facing sectors had a rough time early […]
Thanksgiving week in the US capital markets is always a mixed blessing. Wonderful for families and friends, celebration and gratitude. But smack in the crazy year-end rush. Everyone juggling deals and parties – and running on fumes. Six weeks before it starts all over again. What will 2020 deal activity look like? Hard to beat […]
As investment managers run through the tape towards an incredibly productive 2021, many are asking what will the new year bring? No one could have foreseen a year ago vaccine success, or the 25% equities run-up. But we have have seen remarkable private credit performance over the past 24 months, so let’s highlight some key […]
Our friends at William Blair ended their 3Q survey with issues most impacting leveraged loans through year-end. Here are a few: Supply/demand equilibrium. Which comes first, supply or demand? Retail cash inflows and CLO capacity largely drive liquid loan demand. With private credit, it’s all about manager dry powder. There’s plenty of that. But as […]
Having moderated three private credit panels in the past ten days, a recurring theme we’ve heard is the record level of deal volume. What’s driving this unprecedented activity? In its recently published 3Q survey, William Blair reported $155 billion of institutional loans, nearly the highest number they’ve recorded. $92 billion was dedicated to M&A transactions. […]