Buyout firms adapt

The leveraged loan market is a shadow of its former self. The raw statistics are stark – sponsor-related loan volume of US$22.4bn has dropped eight-fold through the first half; and non-sponsor related loan volume has plummeted to US$178.2bn, down from US$432.7bn a year ago. It is certainly not a good sign for sponsors that maintain billions in cash that they can no longer rely on quick and cheap access to debt to fund acquisitions.

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