US Leveraged Loans See Busiest Third Quarter on Record

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September’s US leveraged loan activity totaled 101 deals for $93.2b, representing a $13.6b increase (17.1%) over August’s $79.6b. However, this marked a $4.2b decline compared to September 2024. This monthly activity brought the third-quarter total to 312 deals for $371.7b, making it the busiest Q3 and the second busiest quarter on record since Bloomberg began tracking the data in 2013. Only Q4 2024, which posted $418.5b, ranks higher.

Year-to-date, 719 loan deals for $819.1b were priced through September, which is a 10.9% decline from the $912.1b seen in the same period last year.

New money issuance accounted for just $11.4b or 12.2% of the monthly total, with M&A activity contributing $3.8b and dividend issuance another $6.1b. YTD M&A volume reached $59.9b, in line with last year’s $59.6b figure, while dividend issuance through September is up 98.1% from last year, to $25.2b.

Contacts:
Vincent Daigger
vdaigger@bloomberg.net
Lara Wieczezynski
wieczezynski@bloomberg.net

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