欧洲私人信贷监测（英）

Private CreditMonitor February 2026 Key Takeaways •Direct lending dealflow cools– Estimated direct lending volume isdown by 37% year-over-year, and the number of deals is down by36%. On a three-month rolling basis, these measures have fallenless dramatically from Q4 — by 15% and 7%, respectively. M&Atransactions have been the main driver of activity in 2026,accounting for 64% of estimated volume. •BSL and direct lending spreads are diverging again– In the YTDthe average difference in sponsored acquisition-related spreadsbetween the two asset classes is 164 bps. In the second half of 2025it was 123 bps. In the three months through the end of February, theaverage difference was 152 bps, and in Q4 2025 it was only 88 bps. •The gap in average leverage levels between BSL and DLmarkets has shrunk– LCD data shows that the average leveragegap between the two sponsored markets has declined in the LTM toless than one turn (0.7x), versus 1.31x in 2024. This appears to bedriven by both a rise in leverage for BSL deals as the cost of debthas declined, and by DL leverage moderating, most likely due to amore nervous market with less risk appetite and a slowdown in theacceleration of new M&A deals. •Software & Data Integration make up the largest share of dealsin the market– 25% of transactions over the last twelve monthswere done in this sector in Europe. The recent AI-related sell-off hasraised investor concerns. •LBO volumes between BSL and direct lending comparable overthe last three months– Direct lenders funded more than five timesas many buyouts as the BSL market in the last three months.However, over the past three months, direct lending LBO volumewas on par with BSL LBO volume. •BSL borrowers refinanced just over €1 billion of private creditdebt in the last three months– In a recent shift, BSL debt has notbeen refinanced in the direct lending market in the rolling threemonths to the end of February – or in Q4 2025. •Lender focus on the mid-market space grows– The share ofdeals with an estimated size of €100-349 million over the LTM was59%, the highest annual measure for the category since LCD beganrecords. Direct Lending Volume &Counts Direct lending deal activity began to fall off over the last three months 2026 is off to a slower start than the same period in 2025 YTD acquisition activity slightly edges out same time frame in 2025, while refis and recaps are muted so far PE-backed activity is down slightly in the last three months Direct lending deal count and estimated volume, sponsor-backed borrowers (€B) While there have been fewer PE-backed deals year-over-year, deal volume is comparable Direct lending deal count and estimated volume, sponsor-backed borrowers (€B) The number of sponsored direct lending transactions is down in the last three months, but in line with the 2025 quarterly average The number of LBOs was steady, with deal volume down in the last three months from Q4 2025… Count and estimated volume of deals financing buyouts (€B) …similarly, YTD activity is off to a slower start than last year Spreads Average direct lending spreads inching closer to 500 bps in the last twelve months Spreads for BSL and direct lending deals are diverging New-issue spread of acquisition-related deals, PE-backed borrowers (bps) In the last twelve months, over half of all direct lending LBOs priced under 500 bps New-issue spread distribution of LBOs financed in the direct lending market The difference between average LBO spreads in the BSL and direct lending markets is 115 bps in LTM, compared to 228 bps in 2021 Spread of LBOs financed in BSL (all borrowers) vs direct lending market Broadly Syndicated vs.Direct Lending Market Direct lenders funded almost five times as many buyouts as the BSL market in the last three months Direct lenders and BSL lenders funded a similar amount of LBOs in the last three months BSL dealmaking outpaced sponsor-backed activity in the last three months… Count of sponsor-backed deals financed in BSL vs direct lending market … and BSL sponsor-backed volume also outpaced private credit New-issue sponsor-backed volume for loans financed in BSL vs private credit market (€B) The BSL market continued to outpace the direct lending market in February In the YTD, high-yield and BSL markets have been busy relative to direct lending BSL borrowers refinanced just over €1B of private credit debt in the last three months Market Characteristics Non-sponsored deal flow represented a small percentage of deals in the last 3 months, relative to the long-term average Share of European private credit deals by ownership type, by deal count The last 12 months featured the lowest percentage of non-sponsored transactions since LCD began tracking this data Share of European private credit deals by ownership type, by deal count Recaps and refinancings continue to hold record-breaking shares of direct lending deal activity… European direct lending deals by purpose …with mo