1. BSL bounces back — The repricing wave

Entering the year with a renewed sense of optimism that rate cuts and reduced volatility would spur on a soft landing, syndicated loan issuance came roaring back in Q1 — and faster than many had expected.

Out of their golden era, direct lenders quickly found themselves having to reprice loans if they wanted a chance of clinging on to prized assets and stave off the distributed market. A typical E+650bps private credit deal from 2023 stood little chance against the low four-handle pricing bankers were offering.

And reprice they did. 9fin coverage highlighted large-cap names like Facile, Civica, and International Schools Partnership shaving around 100bps off their margins with their incumbent private credit funds.

2. IRIS Software opts for private debt

But it wasn’t all bad news for private credit. The long-running auction of Hg-backed IRIS Software, which kicked off in summer 2023, finally settled on a £1.45bn refinancing package from a club of direct lenders in March.

The tumultuous and highly-publicised process did not end in December last year, when US sponsor Leonard Green bought a co-controlling stake at a £3.15bn valuation, as the size of its participation did not trigger a change of control clause for the software firm’s debt.

Instead, private credit funds duked it out with the syndicated market well into 2024, before a 12-strong club led by Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, and Sixth Street finally secured the refinancing deal.

Spurred on by IRIS’s sterling exposure, the deal highlighted how aggressively large-cap direct lenders are willing to play for the right credit, with the unitranche pricing at SOFR+475bps on the dollars and Sonia+500bps on the sterling.

3. Corinthia hits the headlines

March also saw Nomura-backed Corinthia Global Management first make headlines as 26 Barings staff left in a mass exodus to the newly established fund.

The bombshell shocked the decorous world of private credit, igniting an overt back and forth between the two firms that saw the potential suspension of Barings’ funds, a lawsuit, and parent company MassMutual stepping in to provide capital injections to Barings.

The saga continued throughout much of the year, as only in November did Barings investors finally vote to unfreeze and approve new key people to run its third direct lending fund.

In September, 9fin visited Corinthia’s new headquarters for an exclusive interview with Mark Wilton, head of European investments, to discuss the firm’s future plans.

4. Superstruct’s festival season

If there was ever a private credit deal for the British summertime, KKR’s buyout and subsequent financing of festival organiser Superstruct Entertainment certainly fits the bill.

Appropriately announced days prior to Glastonbury, KKR initially fronted £1.1bn in equity for the business, which has acquired controlling stakes in more than 80 music festivals across Europe and Australia in recent years.

Despite a complex ownership structure, which meant a large number of the festivals’ original owners retained minority stakes in their organisations, KKR was able to arrange a £575m financing package by July. CVC and Carlyle were among the club of lenders who provided capital for the loan.

Another development came in October, when CVC announced it was taking a slice of Superstruct’s equity, joining alongside KKR for the acquisition.

5. Fidelity falters

However, all was not rosy for newer entrants to the market this year. Fidelity International was one of the more high-profile firms to backtrack on its foray into private credit. The firm dismantled its European direct lending strategy in May and laid off 30 staff, only seven months on from launching the fund.

The decision, based largely on fundraising struggles, speaks to a wider ongoing trend shaping the industry — the concentration of capital around the most established funds.

Fidelity’s U-turn was an eye-opener for other low-to-mid market funds. With around $820bn in AUM, if Fidelity could not crack direct lending, what chance do other smaller funds have?

Moreover, the decision signalled that the ‘flight to quality’ so often touted by thought leaders in the industry was no longer some ethereal talking point — it was starting to have a tangible effect on the market.

Following the summer, Fidelity launched auctions for its only two European private credit loans, one provided to Dutch dental group Clinias and the other to French software firm Enso.

Morgan Stanley is understood to have bought the Enso loan at par in October, while BlackRock acquired the Clinias loan with an OID around 95 in November.

Private credit pipeline

Although most of the year’s deals are wrapped up in time for Christmas, 9fin reported on a number of processes this week.

In Switzerland, Astorg is seeking a debt package to support it’s pre-empted offer for data management firm Redslim, in a dual-track process consulting both direct lenders and banks.

In Sweden, private equity sponsor Nordstjernan has launched the sale of its primary care firm Prima Vård, with Rothschild marketing the firm off EBITDA between €20m and €25m.

And in the UK, a club of lenders have provided add-on and PIK financing of £900m to support The Access Group’s buy-and-build strategy.

You can read our weekly updated pipeline of new and in-market deals here. And if you’re a fan of this newsletter but aren’t yet a subscriber, email subscriptions@9fin.com for a trial.

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