Just like their counterparts in the US, sponsors and borrowers in the European debt markets are facing very difficult conditions as they seek to finance acquisitions (or refinance them) in the leveraged loan market.
In reality, the main difference for borrowers is not so much the terms but rather whether facilities are available. It is estimated that the backlog of unsold loans reached $230 billion and many lenders' balance sheets are so full that they cannot originate new loans. Moves are afoot to shift the constipation, with various banks selling bundled portions of debt at a discount. In the meantime sponsors and borrowers are faced with many of the following:
Larger equity cheques. Quite simply, the leverage levels available in the pre-crunch world are no longer available.
More expensive debt. Margins have risen, though it is less clear whether they are now more closely tailored to the lenders' risk exposure,...