Reorg Releases Its Latest Rankings Data Showing Ares, Eurazeo, Goldman Sachs Private Credit as Top European Direct Lenders for the First Half of 2024
15 July 2024 - 5:30PM
Business Wire
Buyouts exceed bolt-on acquisitions which could
indicate an M&A resurgence
Reorg, the premier global provider of credit data, analytics,
and intelligence, has released its European Direct Lender Rankings
for the first six months of 2024. The rankings data (also known as
league tables) examine and rank European direct lenders across
sector, region, debt range and ESG compliance for the first six
months of 2024.
Most Active Lenders
Ares secured a repeat first place spot in Reorg’s H1 ’24
European Direct Lender Rankings, completing 36 deals and holding a
7% share of the market. Eurazeo held on to second place with 26
deals (5.1% market share), while new entrant Goldman Sachs Private
Credit completed the podium with 25 deals (4.9% market share). The
overall wider rankings for direct lenders, which included
non-corporate facilities (such as real estate), was also led by the
trio, with the same deal count but with a lower market share, of
6.8%, 4.9% and 4.7%, respectively.
Goldman Sachs Private Credit was the most active lender for debt
above €250 million, completing 23 deals in the first half of 2024.
Ares came in second with 14 deals, while Apollo ranked third with
11 deals for the period. Eurazeo overtook Ares for deals below €250
million, narrowly taking the lead with 23 deals versus Ares’ 22
deals. Barings Private Debt kept its third place position with 16
deals.
Many lenders maintained their leading positions in H1 ’24 for
regional activity. Ares, Ture Invest, and Anthilia topped the UK
and Ireland (UKI), Nordic and Southern Europe regions again, while
Investec Direct Lending and Pemberton joined Barings Private Debt
at the top for the Benelux region. Golub replaced Eurazeo at the
top of the DACH region, CVI dominated the Eastern Europe region,
and Eurazeo displaced Tikehau for first place in the France
region.
Ares’ dominant performance was seen in the Healthcare &
Pharmaceuticals and Financial & Insurance rankings, with
Eurazeo and Goldman Sachs Private Credit sharing first place in the
Software-related rankings. Anthilia displaced Ares for first place
in the Business Services-related rankings, while the
Consumer-related rankings were fiercely competitive as Apollo,
Arcmont, Ares, CVI, Equita, Eurazeo and Pemberton all reported the
same deal count for H1 ’24.
Ares and Eurazeo’s form continued for ESG-compliant deals,
placing first and second with 34 deals (20.7% market share) and 23
deals (14% market share), respectively. Pemberton completed the
podium with 14 deals (8.5% market share).
Deal Flow
European direct lending activity for H1 ’24 totalled 358 deals,
up from 326 in H1 ’23, as lower mid-market deals continued to
dominate with 75.1% of the market. Rebounding from an underwhelming
Q1 ’24 (147 deals), Q2 ’24 saw the highest quarterly volume over
the last 18 months (211) as direct lending opportunities remain
attractive to investors. The volume disparity between quarters
provides optimism for the rest of the year with most direct lending
deals historically closing in H2.
Buyouts (34.6%) exceeded bolt-on acquisitions (33.8%) in H1 ’24
as lenders’ appetite for larger deals has increased, potentially
signalling a revival of traditional M&A. Buyouts also increased
YoY (30.8% in H1 ’23) whereas bolt-on acquisitions saw a
substantial YoY decrease (43.3% in H1 ’23). Refinancings remained
the third most popular use of proceeds (16.5%) followed by
Capex/Growth (10.1%). The UKI region remained attractive for direct
lenders representing 35.8% (128 deals) of the market. France
(17.6%, 63 deals) and DACH (13.7%, 49 deals) remained in second and
third place respectively.
Unitranche deals maintained its dominance in 2024, making up
61.2% of the deals seen in H1. The $3.3 billion-equivalent club
financed by direct lenders for Ardonagh in Q1 ’24 was not surpassed
by any deal completed in Q2 ’24. The largest entry from Q2 ’24 was
that of PIB Group, a clubbed deal totalling $1.5
billion-equivalent, which pipped Iris Software’s $1.45
billion-equivalent deal to take second place. Senior/Stretched
deals represented the second most popular deal structure worth
22.6% (81) of the deals in H1 ’24, while Bond Notes, PIK, Mezzanine
and other structures took portions of a small remainder
(16.2%).
Software-related borrowers continued to account for the largest
portion of direct lending activity, with 86 deals taking place in
H1 ’24. Business Services-related issuers also maintained their
position in second place with 53 deals, whereas Consumer-related
issuers overtook Healthcare & Life Sciences issuers for third
spot with 49 deals.
Average leverage multiples rebounded in Q2 ’24 from its 15-month
QoQ decline to 5.06x compared with 4.83x in Q1’24. However, YoY it
is still down from highs of 5.19x in Q2’23. Average margin followed
a similar trend, increasing to 619 bps in Q2’24 from 603 bps in
Q1’24. It also trailed its YoY highs of 687 bps in Q1’23.
ESG
ESG-related deals in Q2 ’24 showed substantial increases,
representing 42% of the total transactions compared to 32% in the
previous quarter. ESG-related deals in Q2 ’24 showed substantial
increases, representing 42% of the total transactions compared to
32% in the previous quarter, and a YoY increase from 35.4% in Q2
’23. Software-related, Healthcare & Life Sciences and Business
Services-related firms maintained their top three positions with
36, 20 and 18 deals respectively, with Consumer-related firms
placing in joint third.
About Reorg
Founded in 2013, Reorg is the essential credit intelligence and
data asset for the world’s leading investment banks, asset managers
and hedge funds, law firms and professional services advisory
firms. By surrounding unparalleled human expertise with proven
technology, data and AI tools, Reorg unlocks powerful truths that
fuel decisive action across financial markets. Visit reorg.com to
learn how we deliver rigorously verified intelligence at speed and
create a complete picture for professionals across the entire
credit lifecycle. Stay current with Reorg on LinkedIn.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240715404458/en/
Drake Manning drake.manning@reorg.com
Katie Creaser
katie.creaser@icrinc.com