LBO debt

There’s been a lot of speculation in the papers the last several days that the recent rise in Treasury yields will cool down private equity takeover fever. These deals are typically financed with a sliver of equity and mounds of debt. Now, higher Treasury yields might give a few dealmakers (especially grizzled veterans already sounding the alarms) reason to pause. But for most private equity buccaneers it’s business as usual. After all, the borrowed money in these private equity deals comes from the junk bond market, and so far interest rates in that market have barely budged. There is just too much cash around seeking a higher return.

No, it will take a high profile deal gone bad to slow down private equity dealmaking.