Loan-Market Slump Threatens to Gum Up Wall Street's M&A Machine

  • Almost half of $75 billion LBO debt trades below issue price
  • That's not for good companies that still need buyout funding
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Here’s an ominous sign for Wall Street’s debt-fueled M&A bonanza: Investors are increasingly wary of loans that fund leveraged takeovers.

Almost half of the $75 billion buyout loans arranged in the U.S. last year and tracked by Bloomberg in the secondary market are trading below their issue price.