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By: Amy Kennedy, Corinne Musa, Andrew Sagor - Akin
After a subdued 2023 during which it was challenging for private equity) to raise debt financing as a result of elevated interest rates and a difficult syndicated lending market, 2024 featured a material shift in the global credit landscape.
2024 was a year where the debt capital markets were influenced by macroeconomic and geo-political shifts. In the past year, half of the world's population went to the election polls. With interest rates coming down in most major economies and inflation broadly under control, investors have more visibility on the macroeconomic outlook, especially in the aftermath of elections in countries that make up more than half of the world's population. With a strong corporate earnings environment, private capital dry powder stood at a record $2.62 trillion in mid-year 2024. We believe that the market is ripe for more dealmaking in 2025 despite the fact that high borrowing costs and valuation gaps between buyers and sellers remain to tamper acquisition activity.
Direct lenders dominated in 2023 as broadly syndicated loan market financing was hard to come by, but last year the syndicated loan market rebounded and borrowers found themselves with more options as they underwent a wave of repricing and maturity extension activity. Both the U.S. and European leveraged loan markets saw a near doubling of issuance in the first half of 2024 versus the same period in 2023. Post-election, the prospe...................... To view our full article Click here
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