Private debt funds positioned for busier year Aggregate private debt deal value declined 31% in 2021 after a record year in 2020. The differing rates of decline in the sub-strategies are an indication of managers’ risk appetites and deal availability. Senior tranche lending saw annual deal values and volumes down 28%, and in the riskier

Regulatory changes in Europe could stimulate PD industry The European Union has taken steps to gain the benefits offered by the Chapter 11- bankruptcies regime, shifting the focus from companies’ liquidation to protecting creditors’ rights and keeping the business afloat. The North American private debt market has always dwarfed the European market...

Direct lending most popular PD strategy of 2021 Private debt funds reached an average 120% of their target size at final close last year, with a total of $195.1bn raised. Of this, 58% was raised for direct lending strategies, amounting to $112.5bn over 94 funds. The next largest strategy within the asset class was distressed

Private debt fundraising in 2021 Investor demand for private debt is strong, with funds exceeding targets by record margins in 2021. The average percentage of target size at final close last year reached 120%, a sharp contrast to 2020 when the average final close was 98% of target size. Even compared to pre-pandemic fundraising...

US Remains Most Attractive for Private Debt, But Other Markets Are Catching Up Every year, Preqin asks investors which developed markets they think are presenting the best opportunities in private debt. The US is the top market, although the 65% of investors who identified it is down from 77%. However, a number of other regions

Distressed Debt Volatility Doesn’t Hamper Closing Large Funds Distressed debt returns have been volatile over the past 10 years, with median net IRRs moving between 6.3% and 14.6%. This gives the strategy a median net IRR of 8.62% over 2009 to 2018 (the most recent vintage for which return data is meaningful), very similar to

Direct Lending vs. Distressed Debt Over time, direct lending has slowly taken over from distressed debt as private debt’s largest strategy. At the end of 2016, direct lending had AUM of $156bn compared to distressed debt’s $185bn. But since then, direct lending has grown steadily to $452bn while distressed debt had grown more slowly, hitting

North American private debt AUM growth vs. Europe Up until the Global Financial Crisis, the majority of Europe-focused financing came from banks. After 2008, borrowers were forced to turn to other sources of debt finance as banks tightened the purse strings. Since then, the private debt industry in Europe has grown a lot, with AUM

Private debt investors back consumer spending growth Private debt investors have been active deploying capital in consumer discretionary businesses. With 110 transactions recorded in 2021 YTD, consumer businesses accounted for 10% of all private debt investments. Analysis of deal types in the sector shows growth focus of private debt transactions and the symbiotic relationship between

Private debt sees leap in impact funds Private debt has seen a rise in the number of impact funds, defined as funds with the intention of generating a measurable, beneficial environmental or social impact alongside financial returns, being raised over the year, reaching a new high in 2021 with 12 funds either raising or already