Fee-Starved Banks Are Getting $38 Billion of Junk Buyout Deals

A spate of big-ticket debt sales show the leveraged buyout market is tentatively kicking back into gear, offering some relief to investment bankers after a moribund period for dealmaking.

Wall Street lenders are working on at least $38 billion worth of bonds and loans for buyouts in dollars and euros, according to analysis by Bloomberg. This new money includes the highly-anticipated €7.45 billion ($8.04 billion) debt sale backing Clayton Dubilier & Rice’s purchase of a stake in Sanofi SA’s consumer health unit, and the $4.3 billion debt to support Apollo Global Management Inc.’s Novolex’s acquisition of Pactiv Evergreen ...