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Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis -12/12/2016

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2016 MM CLO volume hits highest level post credit crisis

While the upcoming risk retention rules have certainly slowed broadly syndicated CLO volume in 2016, the middle market has bucked the trend. Middle market CLO issuance has reached US$7.7bn so far in 2016, surpassing last year's $5.8bn and reaching the highest level since 2007. This is a pleasant surprise as most managers that took LPC's Middle Market Investor Survey at the beginning of the year were only expecting to see around US $4.5bn in issuance this year...

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Private Debt Intelligence - 12/12/2016

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UK-Based Private Debt Fundraising

It is perhaps unsurprising that the UK has become the predominant market for the European private debt industry ever since regulation fuelled the growth of the market in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis. The UK accounts for a higher proportion of fund managers than any other European country, with 133 of the continent’s 334 fund managers located in the UK, while 186 active investors are also headquartered in the country holding a combined $3.9tn in assets under management...

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The Pulse of Private Equity - 12/12/2016

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PE outperformance to persist?

Only two private equity fund vintages are still underperforming relative to public indices, net of all fees, as calculated by PitchBook using the Russell 3000 Index. Funds in those particular vintages can safely be assumed to be overly impacted by the global financial crisis, while the significant outperformance of funds from vintages prior to the boom times of 2006 and 2007 can also be chalked up to a highly fervid dealmaking environment...

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Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis -12/5/2016

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Flex factor highlights investor pushback in November

Flex activity in the U.S. institutional loan market favored investors in November. Thomson Reuters LPC's Flex Factor registered an average flex score of 1.5 last month, signifying a higher ratio of investor friendly changes made to deal terms. It was the first time it has been above one since February's average score of 3.5. In all, 19 deals flexed higher in November against 13 reverse flexes. It was the least amount of reverse flexes in a month since March...

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The Pulse of Private Equity - 12/5/2016

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US PE firms dial down their pace of investing in Canadian startups

In 2015, no fewer than 159 private equity firms with headquarters in the US cut a deal with a Canadian company, a clear high for the decade. That pace has slowed considerably even as general Canadian PE activity has declined, with 105 firms active within the country through the end of October. The drivers of the decline are likely the same as in the US: a lack of quality targets given the surge in buying over the last couple of years, competition, and a surplus of dry powder contributing to loftier prices...

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Private Debt Intelligence - 12/5/2016

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The Lead Left: Asia-Focused Funds in Market

Preqin’s Private Debt Online database currently tracks 24 private debt funds in market with a primary geographic focus on Asia. Collectively, they are targeting $5.9bn of investor capital with an average target size of $283mn.

Of the five largest funds in market, three are opting to make direct lending investments and the remaining two are choosing to target special situations and distressed debt opportunities. It is interesting to note that although there are only four distressed debt funds in market...

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Markit Recap – 11/28/2016

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When a company announces that it is increasing the amount paid out to shareholders, it is not typically greeted with enthusiasm by credit investors. But Glencore is no ordinary company in the CDS world, and its announcement on December 1 wasn’t a standard chance in financial policy.

The Swiss firm said that it would be resuming dividend payments after a hiatus of more than a year. Back in September 2015, Glencore was under enormous pressure as it groaned under the weight of its high debt burden and struggled to cope with falling commodity prices. Five-year CDS spreads widened from 350bps to 850bps in the space of two weeks...

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Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis -11/28/2016

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U.S. CLO portfolio trade prices climb

U.S. CLO portfolio trade prices have climbed from their early 2016 levels. The weighted average purchase was 98.92 in September, with the average sale price at 97.31. For the October trades collected so far, the weighted average purchase price is at 99.24, while selling prices average 97.67. Selling prices were more dispersed than purchase prices in 3Q16, as a higher share of portfolio sales were in the sub-98 and par-plus categories. CLOs sold loans at higher prices in the third quarter, with 50% of sales in the par-plus category, up from 37% in 2Q16...

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The Pulse of Private Equity - 11/28/2016

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How long will recent PE fund vintages keep returning at a fast clip?

One of the ongoing narratives presented by recent private equity fund returns data has been the recovery of vintages most impacted by the recession. As is evidenced by the chart above, the average distributions-to-paid-in multiple of 2007 and 2008 vintages have benefited considerably from the past few years’ selling frenzy, with a high-priced M&A ...

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Private Debt Intelligence - 11/28/2016

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Credit Strategies Asset Flows

Credit strategy hedge funds have recorded strong recent performance in 2016 YTD, making gains of 7.03% as of the end of October. Despite this, the strategy has struggled to attract investor capital, and suffered net outflows through the first two quarters of the year. This has led to a diminution of the strategy’s total assets under management (AUM) from the end of 2015, but net inflows in Q3 suggest that recent returns have been bolstering investor confidence
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