Equity multiples increased to 6.6x on US LBO deals in 1Q22

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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 1Q22, after only four of that size got done all last year. This helped push the average LBO loan size to over US$1.4bn in 1Q22 after averaging around US$950m in 2021.