M&A Wave Bolsters Corporate Bond Pipeline After Issuance Slows

Mergers and acquisitions are already padding the debt pipeline for 2021, adding momentum to a pace of bond sales that’s slowed from a blistering start to the new year.

LafargeHolcim Ltd. and AmerisourceBergen Corp. are among the latest to announce deals that will be financed with debt, echoing similar plans from Centene Corp. and Teledyne Technologies Inc. earlier in the week. The disclosures come after nearly $50 billion of new high-grade offerings kicked off 2021, more than double some estimates.

Dealmaking is picking up right where it left off at the tail end of 2020, when more than $187 billion ...