Year-end wrap 2024: Leveraged finance and high yield deals and highlights

In strengthening credit markets, we have supported financial sponsors and their debt providers on many of the year’s landmark deals. Our team have been at the forefront of the high yield market, advising on multiple first-of-their-kind transactions, including two of the largest HY issuances of 2024. Despite M&A activity taking time to bounce back fully, they have advised on the financings for numerous public and private acquisitions, across both the syndicated and private credit markets.

The team supported the arrangers on Zegona’s acquisition of Vodafone Spain, this deal marked the first and largest committed LBO financing for a publicly listed SPV in Europe. Our market-leading high yield team advised the underwriters on Asda’s high yield bond and loan refinancing, a deal which included the biggest Sterling high yield bond of this year and the second-largest sterling bond in the European leveraged finance market. In the infrastructure sector, our cross-border team guided the lenders supporting KKR’s acquisition of NetCo, a landmark transaction that represented the largest digital infrastructure deal in Italy in the last five years. 

Deal highlights 2024:

Broadly syndicated loans

• Arrangers supporting Zegona’s acquisition of Vodafone Spain.
• CVC on the financing for its acquisition of Monbake.
• Arrangers supporting Cinven’s acquisition of Alter Domus.
• Boels on its acquisition of Riwal and loan refinancing.
• Arrangers on the dividend recap for Zelis Payments a Parthenon and Bain Capital portfolio company.
• The sponsors on the financing for its acquisition of a majority stake in Synthon.
• Arrangers on the repricing of a TLB and RCF for Westinghouse, a Brookfield portfolio company.
• PAI on the refinancing for Froneri, one of its portfolio companies.
• Arrangers on the refinancing of existing facilities for Savage Enterprises.
• Action Group, a 3i portfolio company, on its dividend recap.
• CVC on the refinancing for UAX, one of its portfolio companies.

High yield

• Underwriters on Asda’s high yield bond and loan refinancing.
• CVC on financing the extension of its partnership with Multiversity through a CVC-managed continuation.
• Underwriters on Stonegate’s high yield bond and loan refinancing.
• IHO Verwaltung on its issuance of sustainability-linked senior secured PIK toggle notes.
• Underwriters on the financing for TDR’s acquisition of Acqua & Sapone.
• Underwriters on IRCA’s unitranche refinancing.
• DT Midstream on its Senior Secured Notes to fund future acquisitions. 

Private credit

• Partners Group on the financing for the acquisition of FairJourney Biologics.
• Providence on the financing for its acquisition of Viva Gym Group.
• Lenders supporting Sentinel Capital Partners’ acquisition of Carrier Global Corporation's Industrial Fire Business.
• Lenders supporting Carlyle’s acquisition of SEIDOR.
• Lenders supporting Inflexion’s acquisition of GlobalData Healthcare.
• Lenders supporting Francisco Partners’ acquisition of Jama Software.
• Lenders supporting Berkshire Partners’ acquisition of RJW Logistics .

P2P 

• Lenders supporting Adamantem Capital's take private acquisition of QANTM IP.
• Bridgepoint on the financing for its recommended public offer for Alpha FMC.
• Lenders supporting KKR’s take private acquisition of Encavis.

Infrastructure 

• Lenders supporting KKR’s acquisition of NetCo, the fixed line business of Telecom Italia.
• euNetworks on a new sustainability-linked debt raise.
• Lenders supporting Mill Point Capital LLC's acquisition of Fomento Económico Mexicano.
• Lenders supporting KKR and SingTel’s investment in STT GDC, the Asian data centre provider.