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The European Leveraged Buy Out (LBO) market continues to grow exponentially and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe, Ltd. (SMBCE) in Europe is a committed, long-term provider of senior debt. It has a team of four dedicated personnel centred in the Leveraged Finance Unit in London and can call on local resources in the Continental European offices in Brussels, Düsseldorf and Paris.
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| Leveraged/Management Buyouts |
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Our Role
The Leveraged Finance Unit was established in 1997 to oversee and expand the Bank's role in the leveraged finance market. As a small team, we have not sought out arranging mandates but have concentrated our resources on growing a portfolio of accounts through participation and an increasing number of co-arranging roles.
Our Commitment
In the six years since the Bank re-entered this market, we have committed to lend over US$1.0bn over 50 transactions covering a wide range of industries and geographic locations. Each commitment follows an extensive investigation of all available information and brings with it a long-term commitment to the borrower. The Unit, together with the Continental Office if appropriate, retains full responsibility for the account post closing and this ensures that the account is managed with interest and enthusiasm.
Our current portfolio numbers 34 transactions and contains nearly US$450m of exposures.
Another important role for the Leveraged Finance Unit is to manage the Bank's portfolio of European Private Equity Fund investments. At the present time, the Bank has investments in seven Private Equity Funds totalling c. US$45m. The rationale for these investments are twofold:
- to provide us with a level of return commensurate with the "equity" risk we are taking
- to provide us with a source of senior debt opportunities
Going forward, the Bank is prepared to look at selective new investment opportunities but the criteria will continue to be strict as we seek to achieve a balanced portfolio of investments
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