In a recent conversation with a good friend in private credit, a veteran of the industry for many years, he reminded us of the history of one-stop financing. “In the beginning,” he reminded us, “unitranche was a creature of broken markets. It was designed to step in when banks were backing away. Today it’s accelerating…
According to Refinitiv LPC, US unitranche volume came to almost $22 billion last quarter – the highest level they’ve tracked historically. That activity was comprised of records for both the middle and the larger corporate markets. At the same time, one-stop risk/return dynamics have moved in favor of issuers. The average debt/ebitda is now at a…
In October 2015 we published a series of articles on the unitranche, what we called “one of the most innovative, and increasingly popular, financing tools in the middle market.” Those commentaries were consolidated into a white paper: “The Unitranche – What it is, and Why it Matters.”. In that white paper we covered the history…
As we conclude our European private credit series, let’s review what we’ve learned so far: – Europe suffered a similar Covid slump (and enjoyed a similar rebound) as the US. Yet Europe also retained the country-by-country distinctions they had pre-Covid. The recovery in all capital markets was swift; deal volumes are now at record highs….
Our Chart of the Week, courtesy Preqin, highlights how both US and European fundraising for private debt came into Covid with a head of steam. That momentum slowed in the wake of the pandemic last year. Since then, however, things have picked up. Our content partner, Private Debt Investor, recently published some excellent commentary related…
This week we continue our conversation with members of Lincoln International’s Capital Advisory Group, managing directors, Aude Doyen, Xenia Sarri, and Dominik Spanier. “US and Europe are competing markets,” Ms. Sarri told us. “The US was increasingly aggressive when I first came here, but six years later terms are more favorable in Europe. For instance,…
Calculating private credit volume in Europe is a bit dodgy. Even in the US, good numbers have only been available in the last couple years. We can however triangulate from other known metrics. The par amount of all leveraged loans was €15 billion in 1998, per S&P/LCD. It grew to €20 billion in 2003, €140…
For a sense of overall credit conditions, we tuned last week into the European Leveraged Finance Mid-Year Update hosted by Fitch. The discussion – covering the economy, ratings, covenants, and structures – was virtually indistinguishable from recent US market conferences. Apart from these panelists’ distinguished accents. For example, activity for leveraged loans in Europe has…
Our fondness for colorful metaphors led us, in our 2016 series, to compare European direct lending to Burger King’s new hot dog venture. The burger giant’s thesis was to apply “sixty years of flaming-grilling expertise,“ but also recognized they’d have to “chop the onions a little differently.” Apparently, hamburger prowess didn’t translate to frankfurters. The…
Say what you will about last year’s Covid-induced downturn in the US beginning in March. But it paled in comparison to the UK’s economic cratering. Not since the Great Frost of 1709 had that proud nation suffered such a dramatic slump. Europe, in various degrees, followed suit. But then, like the US, Europe and the…