美国私人信用监测（英）

USPrivate CreditMonitor March 2026 Key Takeaways mega-sized deals likeElectronic ArtsandHologic. In addition, while sponsorscontinue to tap direct lenders for financing at a faster clip than in the liquid market, theratio between the two decreased in the first quarter. For every deal financed in theBSL market, direct lenders financed 4.4 deals, down from a 5.2-to-1 DL-to-BSL ratiolast year. •Large deals prop up direct lending volume—Estimated volume increased quarterover quarter and surged 26% year over year, even as deal count trailed last year’space, reflecting sustained appetite for larger transactions. A wave of large-tickettransactions pushed quarterly volume to its highest level since Q2 2024. Among thenotable deals wasParatekPharmaceuticals’ $1.3 billion private credit loan, withSixth Street, Oaktree, Silver Point and Pharmakon among the participating lenders, tosupport its combination with Radius Health. •Spread widening signals a shift toward lender-friendly conditions—After muchof 2025 saw spreads plateau at their lowest levels since the decade began, someloans are now pricing 50-100 bps wider than late-2025 levels. LCD's Q1 GlobalPrivate Credit Survey reinforces the shift, with the share of respondents expecting aplain-vanilla borrower to price at S+550 or higher jumping from 6% in Q4 to 33% thisquarter. For more, see"Sea change in private credit delivers long-awaited spreadwidening.” •Direct lending LBO volume surges year over year despite a sharply lower dealcount—LBO-related direct lending volume increased 34% from the same period lastyear, even as transaction count declined substantially, pointing to a significantincrease in average deal size. Among the standout transactions wasThomaBravo'sacquisition ofWWEX Groupin a $5 billion deal led by Blackstone and Ares, withWWEX set to merge with portfolio companyAuctaneto form a combined shipping andlogistics technology platform. •Private credit secondary market supply surges but buyers remain scarce—Elevated redemption requests at BDCs have pushed more private credit loans into thesecondary market than ever before, but supply is outpacing demand as most loansare offered at or near par with few buyers willing to meet sellers at those levels. Formore, see "More private credit loans for sale than ever, but secondary demandappears tepid." •Cooling tech—The quarter marked a notable shift in sector mix: Healthcaredisplaced Technology as the dominant destination for direct lending capital, rising from18% in 2025 to 22% of issuance YTD, as tech slipped from 18% to 14%—with thepullback most pronounced in February and March. •BSL leads in sponsor-backed volume while direct lending captures more LBOtransactions—Over the last three months, new-issue sponsor-backed loan volumefinanced in the BSL market sharply outpaced direct lending, thanks to a handful of Direct Lending Volume &Counts Q1 2026 deal count trails the 2025 quarterly average despite volume holding firm Despite a lower deal count, Q1 2026 volume surges 26% year over year, driven by a handful of mega deals Direct lending deal count and estimated volume (annual) ($B) PE-backed volume edges down over the last three months as deal count ticks up slightly Sponsor-backed volume holds slightly above the year-ago level as deal count trails Q1 2025, pointing to fewer but larger deals Recapitalization and refinancing activity declined amid a less accommodating market tone and wider spreads LBO volume inches up in the first quarter, supported by a handful of large transactions Q1 LBO volume surpasses the year-ago level by 34% despite a lower deal count, signaling a meaningful increase in average deal size Healthcare direct lending activity jumps in 2026, while Technology declines, signaling a shift in sector mix New-issuedirectlending top 10 sectors–share by deal count Spreads Early signs of spread widening emerge across credit markets, with direct lending leading the move New-issue spread of acquisition-related deals, PE-backed borrowers Spread migration into the 450–500 bps range continues, with 60% of LBO financings now pricing in that bucket, but market volatilitypoints to potential upward pressure The BSL–direct lending spread differential for B-minus borrowers narrows to roughly 115 bps Spread of LBOs financed in BSL (B-minus borrowers) vs direct lending market The BSL–direct lending spread differential across all borrowers tightens to approximately 150 bps Spread of LBOs financed in BSL (all borrowers) vs direct lending market The quarterly spread gap between BSL and direct lending averages around 150 bps Spread of LBOs financed in BSL (all borrowers) vs direct lending market Broadly Syndicated vs.Direct Lending Market Q1 2026 direct lending LBO deal count trails Q1 2025 Sponsors secured more LBO funding from BSL than direct lending in Q1, caused by a few mega-deals such as EA and Hologic Direct lending outpaced BSL in sponsor-backed deal count in Q1, widening the margi