First Brands wins conditional disclosure statement approval, beats Chapter 7 push as judge calls confirmation ‘last real shot’
Chapter 7 conversion denied despite concerns over feasibility and cash burn; interim CEO testifies on plan feasibility, citing uncertain litigation outcomes

Repricing wave brings back pain for CLO arbitrage – Europe Loan Digest
Ineos offers premium talk compared to market; performing credits shave up to 50bps off existing debt

US levfin community raises USD 4.3m in annual melanoma research fundraiser
The networking evening at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City brought together members of the leveraged finance community across banks, private credit firms, law firms, LPs, private equity shops and more

Optimum to show restructuring proposal to creditors’ advisors as company presses for deal before 4Q
Market participants discuss fraudulent conveyance claims amid reorganisation; creditor advisors are already restricted to review diligence documents

Cerba’s revised consent solicitation request approved by noteholders
French labs business issued revised consent solicitation; terms modified slightly to shorten grace period extension

Seqens loan slides, Konecta term loan B reverses losses
Weekly wrap-up of the European leveraged loan market

Primary picks up pace and appetite for large transactions – Europe Loan Digest
Boluda, Warner Bros Discovery launch jumbo deals; strong technical supports opportunistic deals

First Brands factoring provider Leucadia opposes disclosure statement, saying ‘death trap’ could deem creditors ineligible for recoveries

Provision disqualifies creditors from recoveries for objecting to plan, LAM argues

A&E and dividend recap activity populates primary, with new-money deals also pre-marketed – Europe Loan Digest
Smiths Detection, Schülke in pre-marketing; Hanab, TMF flex down pricing on recap deals; Caldic, Envalior, BME performance in focus

US Trustee moves to dismiss or convert First Brands’ bankruptcy cases, alleges ‘sleight of hand’ to dodge administrative expenses
Company faces USD 9.3bn debt, significant issues from tariffs and capital expenditures; DIP financing includes 30-day deadline for restructuring agreement

Primary regains momentum amid high demand for paper – Europe Loan Digest
BASF Coatings doubles book on tight margin; Archroma widens final print after fraud disclosure; Cooper Consumer Health prices A&E with a dividend recap

First Brands' journey from fraud-led freefall into bankruptcy to mediation-backed plan amidst examiner allegations
Proposed plan for debtor Premier Marketing Group is result of mediation efforts; case has been plagued with fights over adequate protection, discovery, and more

Investors should stay the course on private credit even amid valuation uncertainties—Mariner
EXCLUSIVE: Institutional investors can generally ride out any market bumpiness, and these internal marks do not necessarily reflect final returns, head of Mariner Institutional Mike Welker said 

First Brands announces RSA, plan forthcoming via mediation deal
Hilco to manage winding down, including inventory sales and receivables collections; plan aims to resolve DIP defaults, allow junior creditor recoveries

AI disruption fears and Middle East-driven macro volatility weigh on loan and bond issuance – 1Q26 LevFin Highlights
LevFin issuance across the US and European institutional loan and high-yield bond markets saw a strong start to the year before fears of artificial intelligence (AI) disruption and escalating macro volatility stemming from the US and Israel war with Iran weighed on market activity

First Brands Group examiner delays report as Onset seeks to strike CarVal Mexican law expert report, declaration
Examiner pushes status report deadline to 17 April, eight days past the original deadline; Onset, CarVal dispute reportedly centers on competing claims to about USD 16m held in escrow

Three former First Brands Group executives move to dismiss fraud claims in adversary suit
Three former executives moved to dismiss alleged fraud suit, claim no individualised misconduct; former executives contend conspiracy lacked a viable underlying unlawful act

Global issuance falls 22% QoQ and 12% YoY amid tech selloff and geopolitical insecurity – 1Q26 Loan Highlights
Loan issuance in the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions reached USD 1.37tn in 1Q26, according to Debtwire data; this volume was 22% down compared to the previous quarter and 12% below 1Q25

Investors push rebound in quality software credits
Credit markets are sanguine in the face of geopolitical and macro-economic disruptions, as investors shrug off the possibility that a prolonged war in the Middle East will send energy prices soaring and global economies tumbling into recession

Scale trumps fear but 1Q26 M&A volume obscures sponsor frustration – Dealspeak EMEA
1Q26 M&A volume EUR 332.1bn, up 38% year-on-year, but volume of deals below EUR 1bn fell 25% YoY in March; key themes include AI fallout, GPs’ tech woes and sector rotation

M&A volume leap 20% to USD 1.38tn in first quarter of 2026
Even the Iran conflict has not arrested momentum among larger deals. A mammoth USD 122bn capital raise from OpenAI closed on the last day of the quarter, according to Mergermarket data

Iran conflict weighs on primary but cross-border European loan deal flow continues
Europe Loan Digest: Electronic Arts prices euro-dollar loan; Grifols launches refi

AI blockbuster deals surge as Middle East conflict test dealmaker confidence
Mergermarkets M&A Highlights 1Q26: Global M&A volume jumped 22% to the second highest start ever

Investors scrutinise AI disruption and opportunities in the European loan market
Lower EV, high leverage elevate credit risk and refi challenges; AI-driven sell-off creates selective buy opportunities

Loan market sell-off set to widen, Sealed Air enters primary despite expected issuance slowdown – Europe Loan Digest
Electronic Arts to price today; strong CLO bid protects prices from macro volatility