Market dynamics reshape borrower choices - Competition between lending channels intensified in 2025, as leveraged finance markets in Europe saw lenders vying for deals and offering borrowers greater flexibility ahead of an...more
It has been a busy year for European financing markets, with robust demand for refinancings driving volume. The fourth quarter of 2025 likely will see more transactions coming to market in preparation for an even livelier...more
"Baskets" are leveraged finance jargon for certain permissions a Sponsor's borrower group has to undertake certain transactions that, because of they are viewed by lenders as "leakage" items of a more risky nature to the...more
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
At the beginning of 2024, the White & Case leveraged finance team made a series of predictions on how the leveraged loan and high yield bond markets would perform in 2024. After 12 months of softer markets in 2023, the...more
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
A strong finish to 2023 helped to boost global leveraged loan issuance at the end of an otherwise rocky year for all key markets. The last 12 months were incredibly challenging for banks, investors and borrowers, as elevated...more
High interest rates weighed down on deals, precipitating a drop in leveraged loan issuance in 2023. However, there are reasons to be optimistic that deal activity will pick up in 2024 - As our latest leveraged finance...more
High yield bond activity rallies in the US as borrowers pivot away from pricier leveraged loans, but European and Asian markets remain challenged US high yield bond activity sparked back to life in H1 2023 as improved...more
Heading into 2023, European leveraged finance markets continue to deal with fierce headwinds, following 12 months of economic and geopolitical volatility that has prompted a general slowdown in issuance. What does this mean...more
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
After a year of red-hot moves in the tech sector, markets have cooled down in 2022, as inflation and rate hikes prompted many investors to prioritize investment in safe haven asset classes....more
For fast-growth companies in particular, recurring revenue (or annualised recurring revenue, "ARR") loans are increasingly common in the European loan market, as lenders and borrowers become more familiar with a new...more
A rebound in European corporate transactions has driven a double-digit acceleration in leveraged finance earmarked for M&A (excl. buyouts), with a robust pipeline setting the stage for an active 2022. In the summer of...more
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
A flurry of activity saw year-on-year leveraged finance issuance in Europe hit new heights in 2021. Can this pace be maintained in the months ahead? Based on pipeline activity and investor appetite for growth, the answer...more
- 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
HEADLINES - • Leverage loan technology and computer-related issuance in Western and Southern Europe almost doubled from annual pre-pandemic levels to €19.9 billion by the end of 2021 • Technology and computer-related...more
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
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
Investors eager to maintain high levels of capital deployment have kept terms and pricing highly flexible for bond and loan issuers, but that does not mean easy access for borrowers—lenders are still pushing back against...more
The rise in sustainability-linked debt issuance observed in 2021 has shown little sign of slowing down as borrowers continue to focus on improving environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in response to investor...more
The impact of COVID-19 is developing fast across the globe and across industries. We outline a selection of the issues which we are currently busy discussing with lenders, sponsors and portfolio businesses in various...more
HEADLINES - Default levels remain historically low at 1 per cent to 2 per cent - Prevalence of cov-lite loans in Europe may be concealing some underperformance, but there are no conventional triggers for lenders to...more