Middle market LBO purchase price multiples declined from 12.3 times in 2022 to 11.4 times in 1Q23, the lowest level since 3Q20. While purchase price multiples declined, the equity multiple was only down minimally, to 7.3 times, from 7.4 times in 2022. In contrast, the leverage component dropped to 4.1 times in 1Q23 from 4.9 times in 2022. With leverage declining more than purchase price multiples, the loan-to-enterprise value levels on middle market LBOs declined to 38% in 1Q23, the lowest level on record since at least 1Q15.
(Past performance is no guarantee of future results.)
Latest news
Q2'26 BDC analysis shows additional 184 bps of nonaccruals at cost
In a universe of 173 business development companies, or BDCs, Octus identified a total of $9.5 billion of debt (at cost) in nonaccrual status reported in the second quarter of 2026, a slight decline of 5% from $10 billion in the first quarter of 2026.
Reading the Board
The story changes depending on which numbers you’re counting.
Private Credit Defaults 101: Different Numbers, Different Stories
In Season 2 of Billions, Bobby Axelrod takes his lawyer Orrin Bach to an empty Yonkers racetrack in the dead of night.