Total leverage on large corporate US LBO loans remains high in 4Q19, but senior leverage declines At a time when investors have been pushing back on pricing and structure on riskier loans, total leverage on US LBO deals remains high. So far this quarter the average total debt to EBITDA level for large corporate LBO…
Flight to quality continues on in the US leveraged loan market Looking at year-to-date average secondary bids along with loan volume highlights the flight to quality seen in the US loan market over the past few months. Corporates with a rating of single-B or lower peaked in 2019 monthly volume with US$24bn back in May….
Recent investor challenged single-B deals have yet to gain traction since breaking in the US secondary market As bifurcation among credits continues, a number of recently launched deals for single-B names received significant investor pushback during syndication. Not surprisingly perhaps, none of these loans have been bid above their break price in the secondary market….
1-3Q19 Sponsored loan volume off 48%; LBO volume at 3-year low Less than US$90bn in syndicated loan volume backing PE sponsor activity was completed in the US market in 3Q19, the third lowest quarterly total in the last three years, and a 30% drop year over year. In turn, less than US$265bn in sponsored loan…
1-3Q19 Leveraged issuance down 32%; Institutional volume at 5 year low The 3Q19 leveraged market logged just over US$245B of issuance, flat from year ago levels, to push 1-3Q19 totals to US$762B, the lowest nine month total in seven years. Most of the shortfall can be traced to hints of market stress which have contributed…
As Libor declines, Libor floors begin to trickle back As interest rates continue to decline, Libor floors are on investors’ minds once again. As of September 24, the 3-month Libor rate was 2.11%, 69bp below its 2018- year-end level. So far in 3Q19, the average Libor rate is 2.20%, down from 2.51% in 2Q19. If…
Sustainability-linked loan volume dominates Green-ESG pipeline Year to date, over US$83bn in global green and ESG linked loan volume has been announced, almost two times year ago levels. Of this total, over 80% or nearly US$67bn is in the form of sustainability or ESG linked loans. Amid global interdepence and heightened awareness of environmental risks…
Primary leveraged yields decline slightly in 3Q19 Primary yields have tightened slightly across rating levels so far in 3Q19. The main driver behind the decline in yields are falling Libor rates. At its current level of 2.13%, the 3-month Libor rate has dropped 19bp from 2.32% at the end of 2Q19. For single B issuers,…
Leveraged loan market expected to pick up amidst more volatile market backdrop Completed US leveraged loan volume totals US$105bn so far this quarter as lenders look for a pick-up in activity after the Labor Day holiday. 3Q19 leveraged issuance comprises US$59.8bn in new money volume with another US$45.3bn in refinancing volume. Refi activity has been…
Top US CLO retail holdings Top retail loan holdings in active US CLOs at the end of July include Albertson’s TLB, Bass Pro Shops TL and EG Group TL, with US$2.1bn, US$1.9bn and US$1.7bn of total issuer loan volume respectively. While loan debt of several defaulted retail issuers is still held in active CLOs, their…