NEW YORK, October, 2017 – Ken Kencel, CEO of Churchill says, “We see credit facilities as small as $250 million in size that are being done cov-lite. Three years ago that would not have been the case. As a result, the upper middle market has become more syndicated, more distributed, and more underwritten to sell. Lenders in this space have shifted from the ‘storage business’ into the ‘moving business’ —often at the expense of covenants and other structural protections, with lower pricing and higher leverage. This is something that has happened increasingly in the last several months.”

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NEW YORK, October, 2017 – EBITDA adjustments have expanded beyond conventional add-backs like the cost of headcount reductions. For example, one of the more aggressive add-back that firms now request includes taking into account the projected revenue generated from a new product or customer over the next 12 months, says Randy Schwimmer, senior managing director and head of origination and capital markets at Churchill Asset Management.

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NEW YORK, June 12, 2017 – Higher prices paid to buy the original portfolio company are making it tough for private equity managers to achieve the returns they need to earn their share of profits when they exit the investment, said Randy Schwimmer, a New York-based senior managing director and head of origination and capital markets at private equity firm Churchill Asset Management LLC.

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NEW YORK, May 9, 2017 – Investors’ loans appetite and lack of supply allows companies to drive harder bargains.

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CHICAGO, May 2, 2017 – Randy Schwimmer, Head of Origination and Capital Markets, Churchill Asset Management, discusses the state of the middle market loan environment, including changes in loan distribution dynamics and deal structure trends.

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GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA, March 23, 2017 – Long-term investors will need a tight hold on costs and conviction to follow a well-defined investment strategy that delivers returns from challenging markets in the years ahead.

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NEW YORK, January 24, 2017 – 2017 could be a pivotal year if pro-business policy changes under the Trump administration are enacted, with themes of fiscal stimulus, lower taxes, and less regulation representing potential tailwinds for the middle market. Lender sentiment is positive on the heels of a robust year in middle market loan fund raising, with economic growth, strong public equity valuations, and a healthy debt market expected to provide a backdrop for a more opportunistic M&A environment. In Brown Gibbons Lang & Company’s (BGL) annual roundtable survey, middle market lenders share insight on developing trends in the financing markets and their outlook for 2017.

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