“We’re waiting to see what happens.” For many credit investors, and to some extent investors of all stripes, this oft-heard remark captures well the market’s view of 2016 as we enter its second month. In the world of broadly syndicated loans, arrangers are like auto mechanics working in a dark garage. Operating by feel rather…
News reached us last week that a computer discovered the largest prime number known to exist. A “non-descript desktop” PC in Room 143 at the University of Central Missouri worked for 31 days before locating the 22 million digit numeral. The super calculator, known on campus as “No. 5,” was unavailable for comment. Big numbers…
One of the largest dinosaurs ever found debuted last week at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. At 120 feet, Titanosaur is so long that its head sticks out of the exhibit hall. The paleontologist who uncovered the bones knew he was on to something unusual. “Everything was extremely large,” Dr. Diego…
“People are still standing.” So a friend of ours characterized the broadly syndicated loan market at the close of a bumpy 2015. From his perch at a big bank trading desk, he put a good face on investor appetite. “There are still bids,” he told us. Another large cap sales pro agreed. “Investors are putting…
Just before the holidays we caught up with a friend who runs a middle market credit fund. So how was the year for you, we wanted to know? “Beyond crazy,” he said. “Time just flew by so fast. It seemed like every fifteen minutes, I was having breakfast.” That perfectly captures the velocity in the…
It’s popular sport at loan conferences to kick the mezzanine asset class. After the credit crisis, when some investors in sub debt took a licking, the common theme heard among market players was, “Is Mezz Dead?” Today the refrain is “Is Mezz Still Dead? And yet, in conversations with practitioners, it seems mezz is alive…
When we first began distributing middle market loans (in the waning days of the Reagan Administration), the concept was novel. Back then money-center banks underwrote and syndicated mainly large corporate loans to other relationship banks. Smaller deals were mostly self-arranged, club affairs among regional banks and finance companies. Ironically the world of middle market loan…
While most Americans were in the midst of Thanksgiving preparations last week, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was making space history. In the first successful test flight of a rocket with all reusable parts, the New Shepard booster landed four feet from where it had taken off on the plains of West Texas. Next step: human…
Valentine’s Day is still months away, but for early planners we pass along the following: The world’s second largest diamond was discovered in a mine in Botswana last week. Weighing in at 1,111 carats, the giant gem is the size of a tennis ball. One expert reported it had “the potential to be one very…
Our thoughts are with our friends in Paris this week, as events prove again our world can be a troubling and unpredictable place. We mark the fourth quarter’s midway point with a brief review of what we are seeing from our private equity clients and key middle market lender relationships. Let’s start with deal volume….