Leveraged loan activity in the US and Europe sprang back to life in H1 2024, with both markets enjoying near-triple-digit increases in issuance.
In the US, overall issuance surged 95.7% from US$461 billion in H1 2023 to...more
8/28/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
China ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Global Marketplace ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Loans ,
Refinancing
Liability management transactions which may favour a subset of creditors over another are increasingly common in the US leveraged finance markets. 2024 may be seen as the year in which these US imports began to make a real...more
Borrowers and lenders alike may be forgiven for running out of steam when, having negotiated ever more complex commercial grids, term sheets and loan agreements, one reaches the final line item – the governing law of the loan...more
After a challenging 2023, US and European leveraged loan issuance showed year-on-year gains in Q1 2024 as a more stable interest rate outlook encouraged borrowers and lenders to return to the market.
After a challenging...more
Side letters document bespoke arrangements between all or certain parties to a financing transaction and supplement the terms of the principal documents thereto. Becoming increasingly popular with stakeholders, and with the...more
In the current market, investors are increasingly considering their options in relation to the stressed and distressed credits in their portfolios. Whilst mindful of stakeholder relationships, secured lenders may, in some...more
Loan issuance across all major jurisdictions saw year-on-year double-digit declines during the first half of 2023, as high inflation and rising interest rates continued to weigh on loan activity
The first half of 2023 has...more
8/16/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Borrowers ,
Debt ,
Economic Downturn ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Loans
In the face of rising interest rates and macro-economic uncertainty, infrastructure finance has proven relatively resilient when compared to the dislocation in other debt markets....more
HEADLINES -
-Rising interest rates and reduced refinancing options are increasing the likelihood of restructuring and financial distress in the next 12 months
-Cov-lite debt packages have given borrowers breathing...more
2/2/2023
/ Borrowers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Financial Distress ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Private Equity ,
Refinancing ,
Restructuring
European leveraged finance markets have been completely reconfigured in the past 12 months. Inflation, rising interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty have squeezed liquidity and seen high yield bond and leveraged loan...more
2/1/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Global Dealmaking ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Mergers ,
Refinancing ,
UK
European leveraged finance markets saw significant inertia through the course of 2022 as high inflation, rising interest rates and cooling M&A activity put the brakes on leveraged loan and high yield bond issuance. How will...more
1/31/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Bank of England ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Interest Rates ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Liquidity ,
Mergers ,
Price Inflation ,
Refinancing ,
Risk Assessment ,
UK ,
Ukraine
HEADLINES -
▪️ In the US, leveraged loan issuance for 2021 reached US$1.4 trillion, a 63% increase year-on-year
▪️ The high yield bond market in the US was relatively flat, rising from US$428.3 billion in 2020 to...more
2/10/2022
/ Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) ,
UK
- In the US, leveraged loan issuance for 2021 reached US$1.4 trillion, a 63% increase year-on-year
- The high yield bond market in the US was relatively flat, rising from US$428.3 billion in 2020 to US$429.7 billion in...more
2/9/2022
/ Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA)
It was a year of rebounds in 2021, from the early hike in refinancing activity to the subsequent surge in M&A and buyout deals, as well as frenetic activity in the PE space, all of which contributed to a noteworthy uptick in...more
2/2/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Borrowers ,
Buyouts ,
Debt Market ,
EBITDA ,
EU ,
Interest Rates ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Risk Factors ,
Supply Chain
European leveraged finance markets roared back to life in 2021, sparked by a combination of attractive pricing in the first half of the year and buoyant M&A activity in the second half. The result? High volumes of refinancing...more
2/1/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
High Yield Bonds ,
International Trade ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Mergers ,
Refinancing
Issuance of leveraged loans and high yield bonds to fund buyouts surged to quarterly highs in 2021 as private equity sponsors raised their investment game -
Buyouts are back in a big way. Private equity (PE) firms around...more
11/23/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Asia Pacific ,
Buyouts ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Refinancing
Leveraged buyout high yield bond and leveraged loan issuance fell in Q3 2020 as a lack of buyout deals in a still cautious M&A market dampened appetite for financing -
Although leveraged buyout (LBO) activity showed signs...more
12/4/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Asia Pacific ,
Buyouts ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EBITDA ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Secondary Buyouts
After taking a deep dive in Q2, US leveraged loan issuance picked up in Q3, while European markets gained year on year -
Having navigated extreme market dislocation due to COVID-19 for the past six months, leveraged loan...more
11/4/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Borrowers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Interest Rates ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Debt ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity
Faced with a rapidly evolving business landscape, lenders, borrowers, advisors and other stakeholders in the leveraged finance market are working hard to assess and monitor current and anticipated problems in existing loan...more
LIBOR, the reference rate for more than US$300 trillion of contracts globally and nearly US$200 trillion of US dollar contracts, is expected to cease after the end of 2021. In highlighting the limitations of the LIBOR reforms...more
9/17/2019
/ Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) ,
Banks ,
Derivatives ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Interest Rates ,
IOSCO ,
Lenders ,
Libor ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Transitional Arrangements ,
UK
In 2012, the Wheatley Review recommended reform rather than replacement of LIBOR, on the basis that a transition to a new benchmark would pose an unacceptably high risk of financial instability. Reform came in the form of a...more
9/4/2019
/ Banking Sector ,
Benchmarks ,
Bonds ,
Compound Interest ,
Derivatives ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Interest Rates ,
ISDA ,
Lenders ,
Libor ,
Loan Market Association ,
Loans ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Public Consultations ,
Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) ,
UK ,
Working Groups
European Leveraged Finance Alert Series: Issue 2, 2019 -
This year European leveraged loan borrowers will test the terms of the additional debt provisions in their loan agreements and there is expected to be significant...more
• In Europe, leveraged loan issuance is down 28 per cent year-on-year to €202.5 billion in 2018, but is up on all years between 2014 and 2016 • High yield bond issuance is down 37 per cent year-on-year • Leveraged loans...more
2/13/2019
/ Banking Sector ,
Bonds ,
Borrowers ,
Collateralized Loan Obligations ,
EU ,
France ,
Global Marketplace ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Interest Rates ,
Italy ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Loans ,
Populism ,
Protests ,
Refinancing ,
Trade Relations ,
UK Brexit
A decade on from the onset of the financial crisis, the leveraged debt landscape is almost unrecognisable and continues to evolve as lenders, borrowers and advisers find new ways to come to market.
In the aftermath of the...more