Financing
ECB lending guidelines turn one with little to celebrate
Volume of highly leveraged deals continues to rise, while aggressive adjustments on financial metrics follow suit
Valar et al. inject €20m into Qonto
Valar, Alven Capital and the European Investment Bank (EIB) back digital bank Qonto
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Penta-backed GRP buys Digney Grant
GRP’s Irish division Abbey Bond Lovis, a retail broking specialist, buys a majority stake
BNP Paribas launches UK SME lending fund
Fund will provide senior loans to SMEs with an annual turnover of less than £50m
Eurazeo sells Odealim to TA
Sale of insurance brokerage firm Odealim is expected to generate a money multiple of around 2x
BC Partners’ MCS Group bolts-on DSO
Debt management service MCS Group, backed by BC Partners since 2017, buys peer DSO Group
Private debt picks up steam in Italy
Debt fundraising activity has been vibrant in Italy in recent months with the launch of several vehicles
Investec hires HSBC's Burgess
Burgess will focus on origination and execution of private debt services across Europe
Ardian, Edmond de Rothschild exit Siaci Saint Honore
Charterhouse takes over, acquiring a minority stake in the insurance brokerage business
Aberdeen Standard buys fund finance outfit Hark Capital
New York's Hark Capital supplies loans to mid-life and end-of-life PE and VC vehicles
Mid-market leverage continues upward creep
High price tags, limited assets and cheap debt are helping to push up leverage boundaries in the European mid-market once again
Turbo-charged: How leverage is powering up secondaries
The use of leverage in secondaries has soared, as funds are continually seeking new ways to boost spending power
Private debt funds expand market share in Germany
Growing use of use of first-out, second-out unitranche leads to private debt funds more than doubling their share of German mid-market deals
MUFG Investor Services hires new head of fund financing
Ben Griffiths will lead the fund financing team globally, offering PE and hedge fund financing products
UBS hires BAML's MacKenzie as MD
MacKenzie will focus on loans and high-yield bonds, and will report to the co-head of leveraged finance
Perfect fit: The evolving craft of fund financing
GPs are tailoring more complex and plentiful fund finance facilities to their advantage
ECB leverage guidelines: casting too wide a net?
Debt advisory firm Marlborough Partners warns that the guidelines, as they stand, could impact deals with standard levels of term debt
European leveraged loans rocket in Q1 on back of favourable terms
Opportunistic recaps and refinancings, with borrowers taking advantage of lower pricing, led to a 140% uptick in loan volume in Q1
High-yield issuance for PE buyouts hits six-year low
Loan market flexibility and pricing steal the limelight as high-yield market for buyouts raises lowest total since 2010
Investcorp completes purchase of 3i's debt management arm
Deal marks the asset manager's largest strategic investment to date, almost doubling its AUM
Lloyds appoints new head of financial sponsors
Stephen Quinn is named global head of financial sponsors, taking over from Robina Barker Bennett
Lloyds veteran Ian Sale joins HSBC
Sale stepped down from his role at Lloyds Acquisition Finance in September 2016
UK debt market rebounds in response to lower yields
Debt volumes were up 9% in Q3 2016 as lower yields prompt wave of recaps and refinancings
