Unitranches help move senior leverage higher on direct lender middle market technology sector LBO deals The increasing popularity of the unitranche loan structure backing direct lending middle market LBOs in the technology sector drove senior leverage levels higher than those in the broadly syndicated market last year. Tech sector deals have seen persistently high purchase…
PE firms are clubbing again Download PitchBook’s Report here. During the buyout boom of 2005-2008, “club” deals were a common sight, especially at the high end. When the music stopped in 2008, many of the biggest portfolio companies were held by three or more PE firms, who had to make “club” decisions about what to do…
Special situations fundraising momentum slows Special situations is a niche – but important – segment of the private debt market and attracted interest during the COVID-19 pandemic. Have investors now cooled on the strategy? Early indications from Preqin data suggest that may be the case…. Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log in here...
Placing a bet on litigation Litigation finance has found a way to attract the retail investor. On the face of it, litigation financiers are not obvious candidates to join the massed ranks of those queuing up to try and attract retail investment. After all, there are those who say you may as well place your…
A lackluster start for exits Download PitchBook’s Report here. PE exits came in lower in Q1 than what we’ve become accustomed to. PitchBook’s Q1 US PE Breakdown Report found about $90 billion worth of sales, the slowest quarter since deal markets revved up in Q4 2020. $90 billion isn’t low on a historical basis; it’s in…
Direct lenders usher in new records for jumbos, recurring rev deals Competition between liquid and illiquid debt financing is heating up amid broader economic uncertainty generated by rising inflation, interest rate hikes and the war in Ukraine. Software company Kaseya surfaced this month with a $3.7 billion jumbo unitranche loan to kick Galway Insurance’s $3.4…
US unitranche leverage edges lower, spreads tick higher in 1Q22 First quarter 2022 US unitranche volume pulled back sharply in both the middle market and large corporate markets as lenders took a breather from the record-setting pace seen in 2H21. Unitranche issuance totaled US$10.1bn in the middle market and US$9.8bn in the large corporate market…
Investor outlook on private debt strategies shifts towards direct lending Direct lending is investors’ favoured private debt strategy in 2022, taking over from distressed debt, according to Preqin’s annual Investor Survey. Almost half of investors see direct lending as presenting the best opportunities in 2022, in contrast to last year, where it was selected after…
Eyes turn to Asia-Pacific The region is attracting increasing interest (see chart), which extends beyond mainstream strategies to more niche areas. Europe is the place to avoid. That was the view of longstanding limited partner Tom Tull as he said that global turbulence marked a good time to carefully evaluate the weighting of geographic exposures….
BDC origination activity expected to decline in 2022 but remain robust After a record setting 2021 and a slower start to 2022, BDC origination activity is expected to decline this year, according to the recent Refinitiv LPC BDC Outlook Survey. Based on responses from a cross section of BDC managers, direct lenders, research analysts and…