It will be no surprise to any institutional investor or high yield bookrunner that refinancings have dominated U.S. high yield bond issuance so far in 2013. Indeed, more than half of the $114 billion priced this year takes out existing leveraged loans or high yield debt, with increasingly thin yields on offer (Barron’s Michael Aniero reports today that junk bond yields hit another record low – 5.289%).

Largely missing from the mix of deals are the highly profitable M&A/LBO transactions, which comprise only 16% of transaction volume so far this year.

This chart details high yield bond issuance in the U.S. from Jan. 1 through April 25.