This article has been supplemented to add a list of 34 pre-LME companies on 9fin’s radar.
It’s been a busy month for LMEs, with seven transactions completed, six in progress and another 16 companies that hit milestones that typically precede an LME, according to 9fin data. May’s finalized transactions bring the total LME count in 2026 to 19.
Seven LMEs close with four repeat restructurings
Absent from the month’s completed cohort are the more adversarial mechanics that the market has seemed to grow tired of. No drop-downs, uptiers, double dips or pari plus in sight for now, reflecting a broadly consensual tone across May’s transactions.
The month’s activity points to a new option in the LME menu, what 9fin calls Downside Protections. Two deals this month — Optiv and Beasley Broadcast Group — have closed with pre-baked pathways in case company performance does not improve or other intervening liquidity-generating events fall through. Optiv’s deal embeds three explicit restructuring pathways, while Beasley includes an equitization enforcement mechanism. Terms of this kind work out downside lender protections at the deal entry phase to mitigate sour negotiations down the road.
Another form of post-LME lender protections is also represented in this...
