U.S. LBO issuance shows more bark than bite in 1Q18

There was a lot of noise around LBO activity last quarter, but in the end 1Q18 U.S. LBO loan issuance totals finished at a modest US$19bn, 17% behind 4Q17’s level of US$22.9bn and 24% behind 1Q17’s US$25.2bn. The good news is that a lot of the LBO announcements from 1Q18 could lead to 2Q18 LBO issuance totals moving higher.