Market Trends 2018/19: High Yield Debt Offerings

Summary

This article discusses the market trends for high yield debt offerings in 2018, including notable transactions, deal structure and process, deal terms, disclosure trends, and industry insights, and provides a market outlook for 2019. After a strong and steady 2017, volatility returned to the U.S. high yield market, particularly in the second half of 2018. 2018 started strong with $64.3 billion of high yield issuances in the first quarter but turned negative as the year progressed, with issuances effectively halting in the fourth quarter. High yield volume decreased significantly from $284.2 billion in 2017 to $173.0 billion in 2018. Overall, 2018 saw the lightest annual issuance volume since 2009.