European leveraged finance markets back on track -European leveraged finance markets rallied strongly in 2024, with momentum for new deals and opportunities for borrowers and lenders alike in 2025 -
Europe's leveraged...more
2/6/2025
/ Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financing ,
High-Yield Markets ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Loans ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds
From large cap syndicated deals to mid-market private credit, whether in loans or in bonds, the ability for borrowers to incur material incremental debt is commonplace. However, when you look beyond the headline ratios and...more
The macro-economic landscape of recent years, marked by rising interest rates and inflationary pressures, has significantly escalated borrowing costs in the European mid-market. This has prompted borrowers to explore...more
Leveraged loan activity in the US and Europe sprang back to life in H1 2024, with both markets enjoying near-triple-digit increases in issuance.
In the US, overall issuance surged 95.7% from US$461 billion in H1 2023 to...more
8/28/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
China ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Global Marketplace ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Loans ,
Refinancing
Liability management transactions which may favour a subset of creditors over another are increasingly common in the US leveraged finance markets. 2024 may be seen as the year in which these US imports began to make a real...more
Borrowers and lenders alike may be forgiven for running out of steam when, having negotiated ever more complex commercial grids, term sheets and loan agreements, one reaches the final line item – the governing law of the loan...more
After a challenging 2023, US and European leveraged loan issuance showed year-on-year gains in Q1 2024 as a more stable interest rate outlook encouraged borrowers and lenders to return to the market.
After a challenging...more
Side letters document bespoke arrangements between all or certain parties to a financing transaction and supplement the terms of the principal documents thereto. Becoming increasingly popular with stakeholders, and with the...more
Loan issuance across all major jurisdictions saw year-on-year double-digit declines during the first half of 2023, as high inflation and rising interest rates continued to weigh on loan activity
The first half of 2023 has...more
8/16/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Borrowers ,
Debt ,
Economic Downturn ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Loans
HEADLINES -
-Rising interest rates and reduced refinancing options are increasing the likelihood of restructuring and financial distress in the next 12 months
-Cov-lite debt packages have given borrowers breathing...more
2/2/2023
/ Borrowers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Financial Distress ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Private Equity ,
Refinancing ,
Restructuring
European leveraged finance markets have been completely reconfigured in the past 12 months. Inflation, rising interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty have squeezed liquidity and seen high yield bond and leveraged loan...more
2/1/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Global Dealmaking ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Mergers ,
Refinancing ,
UK
Leveraged loan activity slows in the US, Europe and APAC as a volatile economic backdrop and the rising cost of debt starts to weigh on issuance -
Leveraged loan markets have been buffeted by a challenging macroeconomic...more
12/1/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Bank Loan Markets ,
Borrowers ,
Debtors ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Mergers ,
Refinancing
HEADLINES -
▪️ In the US, leveraged loan issuance for 2021 reached US$1.4 trillion, a 63% increase year-on-year
▪️ The high yield bond market in the US was relatively flat, rising from US$428.3 billion in 2020 to...more
2/10/2022
/ Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) ,
UK
- In the US, leveraged loan issuance for 2021 reached US$1.4 trillion, a 63% increase year-on-year
- The high yield bond market in the US was relatively flat, rising from US$428.3 billion in 2020 to US$429.7 billion in...more
2/9/2022
/ Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA)
It was a year of rebounds in 2021, from the early hike in refinancing activity to the subsequent surge in M&A and buyout deals, as well as frenetic activity in the PE space, all of which contributed to a noteworthy uptick in...more
2/2/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Borrowers ,
Buyouts ,
Debt Market ,
EBITDA ,
EU ,
Interest Rates ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Risk Factors ,
Supply Chain
European leveraged finance markets roared back to life in 2021, sparked by a combination of attractive pricing in the first half of the year and buoyant M&A activity in the second half. The result? High volumes of refinancing...more
2/1/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
High Yield Bonds ,
International Trade ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Mergers ,
Refinancing
After taking a deep dive in Q2, US leveraged loan issuance picked up in Q3, while European markets gained year on year -
Having navigated extreme market dislocation due to COVID-19 for the past six months, leveraged loan...more
11/4/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Borrowers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Interest Rates ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Debt ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity
Faced with a rapidly evolving business landscape, lenders, borrowers, advisors and other stakeholders in the leveraged finance market are working hard to assess and monitor current and anticipated problems in existing loan...more
- The covenant-lite share of European institutional loan issuance in 2019 reached 92 per cent
- European leveraged loan issuance in 2019 was down slightly on the previous year to €209.1 billion
- High yield bond...more
2/19/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Bifurcation ,
Borrowers ,
Covenant Lite Deals ,
EBITDA ,
EU ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Interest Rates ,
Investors ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Leveraged Lending ,
Mergers ,
UK Brexit
European Leveraged Finance Alert Series: Issue 2, 2019 -
This year European leveraged loan borrowers will test the terms of the additional debt provisions in their loan agreements and there is expected to be significant...more
• In Europe, leveraged loan issuance is down 28 per cent year-on-year to €202.5 billion in 2018, but is up on all years between 2014 and 2016 • High yield bond issuance is down 37 per cent year-on-year • Leveraged loans...more
2/13/2019
/ Banking Sector ,
Bonds ,
Borrowers ,
Collateralized Loan Obligations ,
EU ,
France ,
Global Marketplace ,
High Yield Bonds ,
Interest Rates ,
Italy ,
Lenders ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Leveraged Loans ,
Loans ,
Populism ,
Protests ,
Refinancing ,
Trade Relations ,
UK Brexit
A decade on from the onset of the financial crisis, the leveraged debt landscape is almost unrecognisable and continues to evolve as lenders, borrowers and advisers find new ways to come to market.
In the aftermath of the...more