As the roundtable on European leveraged finance hosted by this magazine evidences [see p. 39 onwards of this issue], European LBOs are at once challenging and exciting the lending community. The excitement comes from the fact that there is rising demand for a wide variety of finance from sponsors, and the mood in the public equity markets suggests that M&A activity is going to increase through the year.
Getting crowded
The leveraged finance community in Europe have plenty to be working on: the deal pipeline is filling up and the private equity firms have the appetite to acquire sizeable assets. But the problem is that a host of financiers have noticed this. Whether a senior or more subordinated debt or mezzanine provider: wherever you tread you are going to find several of your peers ahead and behind you. Is it time to start talking about a leverage finance overhang, ask David Hawkins and Philip Borel.
