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Business of Private Credit: Coming Home
Much attention has been paid to the suitability of Matt Damon in the lead role as the wily Odysseus in this summer’s Christopher Nolan blockbuster.
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August 12, 2026 
Transaction sizes suggest relative US middle-market popularity for PE
Transaction sizes suggest relative US middle-market popularity for PE
The median private equity transaction with a US middle-market company fell slightly to $134.0 million in 2016, down a mere $4 million from the prior year. Given the minuscule magnitude of the decline, it’s clear that there is still plenty of competition from not only strategic acquirers in the upper end of the market but also fellow PE firms that are keeping transaction sizes relatively high, among other factors…
Private Debt Intelligence - 2/6/2017
Private Debt Funds in Market by Strategy
After two consecutive years of private debt fundraising exceeding $90bn, the pipeline remains strong with investor appetite for the asset class as strong as ever. In total, there are 288 private debt vehicles marketing themselves to investors, targeting a combined $117bn of capital commitments.
Direct lending funds represent the highest proportion of both total funds on the road and aggregate target capital; 127 funds (44%) are seeking $51bn (43%)…
New Money
The volume for “new money” loans jumped last quarter (and last year) for both syndicated and privately clubbed middle market transactions.
Loan Stats at a Glance - 2/6/2017
Contact: Blake Udland Blake.Udland@spglobal.com
Markit Recap – 1/30/2017
Many market commentators have commented that 2017 will be the year of political risk. Ongoing uncertainty around Brexit, Donald Trump’s inaugural year as US president and a series of elections in continental Europe make conditions ripe for bouts of volatility.
This may be self-evident, but so far the credit markets are taking little heed. Realised volatility in the Markit iTraxx Europe, as measured by the VolX index, dropped sharply in Q4 and has remained around the 28-29% level this year. Indeed, the last three months have been the longest period of low volatility since March 2007, when the first signs of the US sub-prime crisis emerged. It was a similar story with the Markit iTraxx Crossover…
Strong retail fund inflows help fuel the leveraged loan market
Strong retail fund inflows help fuel the leveraged loan market
Investors have been pouring money into retail loan funds in recent months. This has helped fuel demand in the leveraged loan market. Last week, investors placed US$1.02bn into retail loan funds, the second time in three weeks the US$1bn mark was eclipsed. It was also the tenth week out of the last eleven that there was over US$500m invested in loan funds. With the increased demand in loans, it is no surprise the leveraged loan market has kept busy…
Lead Left Interview - Michael Ewald (Part 2)
This week we continue our conversation with Michael Ewald. Michael is a Managing Director, the head of the Private Credit…
The Pulse of Private Equity - 1/30/2017
PE Fundraisers As Successful as Ever, Suggesting Industry’s Maturation
89% of private equity funds closed in the US last year, against a backdrop of healthy fundraising levels—252 vehicles combined for a total of $180 billion committed. This decade-high proportion of fundraising success leads one to the most evident conclusion that limited partners are still eager for exposure to the asset class. Combined with the historically strong median buyout fund size of $250 million in 2016…
Private Debt Intelligence - 1/30/2017
Private Debt Fundraising by Geographic Focus
Preqin’s latest data finds that through 2016, 130 private debt vehicles reached a final close raising a combined $92bn in another strong year of fundraising for the asset class. However, the year also saw greater capital concentration in the more developed markets of North America and Europe as managers looking to invest in Asia and Rest of World struggles to attract the same levels of capital…
Capital Hill
Sponsors for club buyout financings are putting in more equity capital than either their broadly syndicated or larger middle market counterparts.
Loan Stats at a Glance - 1/30/2017
Contact: Timothy Stubbs timothy.stubbs@spglobal.com
Unitranche volume grows while deal sizes get bigger
Unitranche volume grows while deal sizes get bigger
As money continues to pour into the middle market searching for yield, the unitranche structure continues to gain traction. Unitranche volume reached US$13.3bn in 2016, up from US$8.5bn in 2015. Bigger deals were seen in 2016 as more and more lenders continued to build scale and increase their hold size. The average deal size was $198M in 3Q16 and $129M in 4Q16. But 50% of unitranches continue to be in the $0-$100M deal size area…
2017 – A Look Ahead (First of a Series)
If we learned one thing in 2016, it was that predictions of many sorts went awry. From national departures from…