While the role of the agent as an intermediary between borrower and lenders is common to both the English and United States syndicated loan markets, the two systems diverge in ways that are highly consequential in practice....more
The US and European markets for collateralized loan obligation securities (CLOs) in 2025 carried the momentum of a robust 2024 through headwinds from tariff announcements and trade wars and two notorious private credit...more
Tucked into the back of every credit agreement there is a “Miscellaneous” section that often gets less attention than the more-heavily negotiated covenants and defaults. While much of this section is “boilerplate” language...more
1. Overview - The term “drawstop” colloquially refers to a provision in a credit facility agreement that entitles lenders to stop advancing loans under a facility upon the occurrence of certain specified events. For most...more
Looking back on 2025 and looking forward into 2026, the rapidly growing private credit market has emerged as a formidable force in the global financial landscape, offering a compelling alternative to traditional syndicated...more
On March 11, 2026, DLA Piper hosted its first annual Private Credit Academy, a day-long, deal-driven training program for junior to mid-level professionals seeking to deepen their understanding of the private credit market...more
Our Distressed Debt & Claims Trading Team breaks down the Loan Market Association’s new secondary trading forms that went into effect March 17, 2026....more
Non-pro-rata liability management exercises (“LMEs”) have been a widely used tool for distressed companies and sponsors, sometimes to attempt to fix a company’s capital structure and sometimes to buy time (and often both)....more
Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) funds play an increasingly prominent role in middle‑market private equity transactions. As deal structures evolve and market conditions place a premium on certainty of closing, SBICs...more
Portability has featured in European leveraged debt markets for some time. Over 70% of sponsored high yield deals have included leveraged based portability in each year since 20231 . Whilst less frequently seen in loans,...more
Members of DLA Piper’s Global Fund Finance group recently sponsored and attended the 2026 Fund Finance Association Symposium. A variety of participants in the fund finance market – including institutional banks, private...more
U.S. bankruptcies and restructurings are expected to remain broadly steady in 2026, providing ample opportunity for restructuring and special situations investment. In the meantime, the U.S. market is assessing the...more
Despite a complex operating environment, persistent inflation and tariff-related economic disruption, private credit lending has remained robust, and portfolios have proven resilient. At the end of October, trailing...more
Introduction - Simple subscription lines in Europe do not typically come with an intercreditor agreement (an ICA). Keeping the fund at the top of the structure “clean” with very restricted permitted financial indebtedness...more
Tactics used in liability management type transactions (LMTs) have made their way to bankruptcy cases, including non pro rata debtor-in-possession (DIP) rollups, leading to objections from non-participating lenders. Most...more
In an improving but still challenged M&A market, private equity sponsors are taking advantage of increasingly flexible leveraged lending markets to negotiate lower borrowing costs and create bespoke deal structures. ...more
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
For a myriad of reasons, it is not uncommon for a lender to exit a syndicated facility at the time of renewal or a facility downsize or if a significant amendment of a different nature is requested. Most administrative agents...more
As the fund finance industry continues to grow in numbers, it may seem challenging initially for banks and financial institutions outside of this space to jump in with confidence as new lenders. Joining an existing fund...more
Welcome to this edition of Credit Conditions, a quarterly publication from McDermott Will & Schulte that analyzes recent debt market trends. End-of-year dealmaking accelerated across M&A, private equity (PE), and credit...more
Australia's leveraged finance market is ending the year well-positioned to support a hopeful M&A comeback in 2026. Deep Australian/Asia-Pacific demand for risk assets, sizeable private credit firepower and reinvigorated...more
For more than a decade, borrowers and their sponsors have used liability management exercises ("LMEs") to create runway, preserve liquidity, and rationalize capital structures outside of formal insolvency proceedings. In...more
As 2025 ends, the merger and acquisition (M&A) market, especially in the $5–$100M deal range, is closing out the year on firmer footing than it began. After two years defined by higher borrowing costs, valuation gaps, and...more
In October 2025 the IMF released the 2025 Debt Stocktaking Policy Paper. This represents the first comprehensive review of documentation relating to international sovereign restructurings since 2020....more
English law occupies a unique and influential position in global finance, sharing its status with New York law as one of the two dominant legal systems underpinning the international financial markets....more