Private jumbo volume reaches second biggest monthly tally

Jumbo private loan volume in May stands at $8.6 billion, the second largest monthly tally on record as the market approaches Memorial Day weekend and the start of the summer session.

The $8.6 billion is across three borrowers —Nielsen, NPD/Information Resources and ManTech. NPD is the largest jumbo unitranche ever, at $4.5 billion.

May sits behind November 2021, when private managers provided $10.3 billion across eight borrowers. A bumper crop of jumbo mandates emerged last November amid record dealmaking, and proof that direct lenders could absorb multi-billion dollar financings following the successful $3.4 billion execution for Galway Insurance.

This month’s streak, by contrast, comprises fewer, yet larger credits propelled by volatility, with sponsors seeking certainty against choppy BSL and high yield conditions. Nielsen, for example, canceled a $2 billion high-yield bridge loan in favor of a privately placed $2.15 billion second-lien term loan.

This summer could see a new monthly volume record as volatility persists. The stock market is flirting with bear territory on a rollercoaster of missed earnings and corporate warnings. Markets will remain anything but certain amid rising interest rates, inflationary pressures and geopolitical supply-chain worries.

Private managers have issued a total of $81.5 billion across 44 transactions, as tracked by DLD. Of that, $63 billion was underwritten over the past 12 months. The average spread on the $63 billion is L+574, compared to L+630 for all jumbos. Upfront fees average about 98.