Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis

The long awaited pick-up in M&A-related lending is finally making a comeback this year.  The second quarter has seen many deals coming to market and many others are in the works, bringing  much coveted M&A loans into market.

With almost five months into the year, M&A loan issuance has reached $158 billion and an additional $50 billion is in the pipeline.  At $208 billion, M&A issuance is on track to beating last year’s $361 billion and if the pace continues, issuance could approach 2007’s record $472 billion.  So far this year, 80 percent of total completed M&A issuance comes from leveraged transactions, the highest percentage since 2003, and higher than 2007’s 76 percent.  Many transactions are for corporate issuers, which have contributed $68 billion so far to total leveraged M&A issuance.  And more are in the works.  Pilgrim Pride, for instance is considering issuing up to $6 billion in debt to finance a bid for Hillshire Brands, sources said.