The volume of U.S. leveraged loans backing M&A-driven activity sagged in the second quarter, to $31.1 billion (including $26.9 billion of institutional tranches) from a post-credit crunch high of $46.8 billion/$37.4 billion in the first quarter, when the market absorbed several jumbo LBO loans, including Heinz, DuPont Performance Coatings, Albertsons, Apex Tool, and McGraw-Hill Education.
In the year to date, new-issue M&A loan activity is a mixed bag. Overall M&A loan volume receded to $78.2 billion in the first half, from $85.5 billion during the prior six months.
(The stratospheric M&A loan volume of 2007, of course, represents the peak of the overheated, pre-Lehman market.)