Middle market lenders weigh in on the percent of issuers that will miss P&I in June? Now that we are in June, middle market lenders are highly focused on how issuers will react at the June 30th principal and interest payment date. While making P&I payments at March was a very stressful experience for many,…
Primary yields in the US institutional loan market tighten in May After spiking in April, primary US institutional yields have tightened in May, but remain at very high levels. The average yield, assuming a three-year term to repayment on first-lien institutional term loans is 8.15% in May, down from 9.45% in April. That month, issuers…
MM Sponsored dealflow pipeline expected to remain anemic through summer Middle market syndicated loan issuance remains extremely thin for sponsor-backed deals so far in 2Q20. Volume has only reached about US$1.6bn so far in 2Q20 with zero opportunistic flow such as refinancings or dividend recaps. Anecdotally, lenders indicate that the M&A pipeline is extremely thin…
Pricing, OIDs also widen for double B issuers in today’s market Pricing for double-B rated issuers has widened significantly this quarter. The average yield, assuming a three-year term to repayment, on first-lien institutional term loans for BB rated issuers is 6.19% so far this quarter, up from a much lower average of 3.94% in 1Q20….
Avg. bid on Refinitiv’s BDC Visible Loans Benchmark remains at the 80 context Loans held by business development companies with mark-to-market pricing have stabilized in the 80 context in the last few days. Refinitiv’s BDC Visible Loans Benchmark provides investors with a daily mark on roughly US$20bn in first and second lien loans held by…
Retailers expected to file Chapter 11 in the coming weeks as loan bids drop between 46%-66% this year The retail sector, hit hard by the coronavirus economic shutdown, has seen a flurry Chapter 11-related activity in the last several weeks. Last week, 24 Hour Fitness hired a restructuring advisor, while JC Penny, forced to close…
COVID-19 hits unitranche issuance in 1Q20 After growing for three straight quarters and hitting an all time record high in 4Q19, unitranche volume took a steep hit in 1Q20. Total U.S. unitranche issuance fell to US$11.5bn in 1Q20, down 35% from 4Q19’s record high of US$17.5bn. The “mega tranche” trend that exploded in 4Q19 at…
1Q20 MM non-sponsored syndicated loan issuance mirrored 1Q19’s dire levels At US$16bn, 1Q20 non-sponsored issuance was down 25% from 4Q19 and was on par with 1Q19, which was the slowest 1Q since 1Q10. After a slow start in January, issuance picked up in February and was flat in March. According to bankers that focus on…
New money lending for MM sponsored deals drops for third quarter New money lending in the syndicated loan market backing middle market sponsored deals fell for the third consecutive quarter in 1Q20. Issuance only reached US$7.6bn, down 15% from 4Q19 levels and down 13% year-over-year. New deal momentum was off to a slow start in…
Hopes for building 2020 loan mart are shortlived as Covid-19 spreads Several headlines have rattled the markets over the last few years – some were fuelled by geopolitical unrest, some by enonomic bumps and occasionally tweets – but the impact on the markets themselves was consistently shortlived. It ultimately took a deadly and aggressively spreading…