Debt-Driven M&A Is Set for a Comeback This Year: Credit Weekly
- CEOs look set to add debt to fund buybacks, dividends, M&A
- High-grade bond outperformance will end this year: BofA
This article is for subscribers only.
Financial conditions have eased at the fastest pace in history over the past two months, potentially emboldening corporate executives to dive back into credit markets to fund acquisitions and return cash to shareholders.
Strategists from Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Barclays Plc expect blue-chip companies to move from cleaning up balance sheets into risk-on mode, spending their cash and boosting debt loads in the process. In addition to falling borrowing costs, economic growth will probably be positive but tepid this year, spurring companies to look for ways to boost earnings and their share price.