The-Lead-Left-logo-with-PC_Newsletter image

PDF | Research | Week of June 3 2024

Quote of the Week

“Stocks have become a buy high, sell higher asset class.”

– Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist, US Bank Wealth Management.

Lead Left Vodcast

Best Practices in Private Credit (Last of a Series)

🔔 Subscribe to our YouTube channel: click here

Watch Now

Where We Are (Third of a Series)

floriane-vita-FyD3OWBuXnY-unsplash image

Our keynote opening remarks at the 3rd Annual Sahar Private Credit Conference last week highlighted themes this special series has been developing. In particular, we delineated the distinction between demand in liquid credit, as driven by CLO capacity, and that of private credit, determined by availability of dry powder from direct lenders. 


On the supply side, as other conference panelists noted, sluggish M&A issuance is a tough nut to crack. Digging deeper into the numbers, though, it appears as if that dynamic is beginning to change. While overall global M&A has declined since 2021, pure buy-out flow is holding its own. 


Meanwhile distributions-to-paid-in-capital, a good indicator of how much cash is being returned to LPs, is at historic lows. As our Chart of the Week illustrates, 2020 vintage investments have distributed more than 80% less cash than the historic average between 2007 and 2016. Less even than the 2018 vintage which was 60% off the average...

Read More

Chart of the Week

No Money Back Guarantee

Distributions to LPs are severely hampered by slower M&A activity since Covid.

CTW-0603 image

Source: Ares Management, Goldman Sachs


(Past performance is no guarantee of future results.)

Lead with Your Left

30-DAY FREE MEMBERSHIP


Join the leading voice of the middle market. Try us free for 30 days.
Learn More

Loan Stats at a Glance 

PitchbookLCD-Logo-for-newsletter image
LCD-0603 image

Contact: Ryan Brown / PitchBook LCD

PDI Picks

The syndicated fightback

PDI-0603 image

As expected, the BSL market is retaking some of the ground lost to direct lending for larger deals. 

A recent research note from Alcentra contained some interesting reflections arising from the broadly syndicated loan fightback against direct lending in the larger loan arena...

Read More

Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis

Boosted by refinancing activity, 1H24 sponsored loan volume at highest level since 2H21

LSEG-0603 image

Nearly US$300bn, 1H24 sponsored loan volume to date represents the largest half year total since 2H21 and a 56% increase over the same period last year...

Read More

Contact: Maria Dikeos / LSEG

The Pulse of Private Equity

PB-0603 image

Who doesn’t like low-cost debt? For some borrowers, including many private equity-owned companies, the question is more complicated...

Read More & Download Report

Contact: Garrett Black / PitchBook

KBRA Direct Lending Deals: News & Analysis

DLD-Logo image

TTM Default Volume, Count

KBRA-0603 image

Contact: Eric Rosenthal / KBRA DLD

Middle Market & Private Credit

Fitchratings-for-newsletters image

Fitch’s Private Middle Market Portfolio,

Rating Activity

FR-0603 image

The default rate in Fitch's PMR portfolio climbed marginally in 1Q24, reaching 4.1% from 3.7% in the previous quarter, following one additional net default...

Read More & Download Report

Contact: Brad Hamner / FitchRatings

Covenant Trends 

Distribution of MFN Sunset Horizons

CR-0603 image
Download Data

Contact: Steven Miller / Covenant Review

High-Yield Bond Statistics

Launched Volume

LFI-0603-1 image

New-issue Yields

LFI-0603-2 image

Weekly Fund Flows

LFI-0603-3 image

Weekly fund flows source: Lipper

Download Data

Contact: Robert Polenberg / LevFin Insights

Debtwire Middle-Market

DW-0527 image

The blue line in the chart is the current dividend yield of the *VanEck BDC Income ETF (currently at 10.6% as of 23 May, down from the highest level in last 12 months of 12.1% in May 2023) that tracks the overall performance of publicly traded business development companies (BDCs, lenders to privately held middle-market businesses that tend to be below investment grade or not rated, with most lending comprising of senior secured loans)...

Read More & Download Data

Contact: Suneet Chandvani/ Debtwire 

Private Debt Intelligence

Preqin-vF image

Distressed debt leads Preqin’s performance forecasts

PQ-0603 image

Preqin forecasts that returns from private debt will remain steady up to 2028 at 9.8% per annum (a drop of just 0.1% from the 2019-2022 period)...

Read More & Download Data

Contact: William Bennett-Lynch Preqin

May Update: Middle Market Deal Terms at a Glance

SPP-0524 image

Contact: Stefan Shaffer / SPP Capital Partners

Churchill-2020-logo-white-for-event-invite image
STAY CONNECTED
Twitter  Linkedin  Youtube  

This publication is a service to our clients and friends. It is designed only to give general information on the market developments actually covered. It is not intended to be a comprehensive summary of recent developments or to suggest parameters for any prospective financing opportunity.