BSJO - Junk Party

• Private equity volumes have already far surpassed their previous records of 2007, with over $800 billion pouring into more than 10,000 deals so far this year.
• Where private equity goes, speculative-grade debt follows. This week, Blackstone Group, Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman announced a deal for a family-owned medical supply company called Medline that will raise $15 billion in new debt, most likely earning a rating of single-B.
• Back in 2007, junk bond investors could at least satisfy themselves that they were getting a good deal relative to inflation. Today, for the first time in the history of this asset class, that purchasing power argument doesn’t hold.

For further details see: