21-07-2025
Private Equity Cuts Leveraged Loan Banks Out of M&A — and Fees
The return of billion-dollar M&A deals was supposed to be a boon for Wall Street's leveraged finance desks. It's turning out to be anything but, as private equity cuts them out of many of the most coveted deals.
PE firms including Cinven, Platinum Equity and Jacobs Holding have inserted provisions into debt agreements this year that are alarming bankers who stand to lose out on some of the most profitable fees on Wall Street. These portability clauses allow private equity firms to buy and sell companies without fresh borrowings — and they're appearing with increasing regularity in refinancings on both sides of the Atlantic.
