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…
A break from buyouts Download PitchBook’s Report here. Last week we covered a decently strong Q1, at least from a dollar perspective. But PitchBook’s Q1 US PE Breakdown Report showed a steep decline in deal flow, falling 30% QoQ to 2,166 transactions. That’s not a low number except in relation to the last few quarters. Except…
Secondaries take off in wake of covid crisis Credit secondaries are a small but rapidly growing part of the asset class and recent events bode well for this niche market. In private markets, the development of healthy secondary transactions is perhaps one of the clearest indicators that an asset class has truly matured and become…
Private debt displays strong performance over different time periods Private debt funds have performed well over the past year, boosted by rising yields across fixed income assets, as evidenced by one-year horizon IRRs for the period ending September 2021. Private debt funds across all strategies returned 18.7%…. Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log in
Equity multiples increased to 6.6x on US LBO deals in 1Q22 US LBO volume topped off at US$38.8bn in 1Q22, the lowest level since 1Q21 but good enough to be the twelfth highest quarterly level all time. One theme that pushed volume higher was larger LBO loan sizes. Three over-US$5bn LBO loan packages closed in…