October 2023 Quarterly Insights

The new universal proxy card (“UPC”) rules took effect last year, making the 2023 proxy season the first in which both company and dissident nominees were listed on the same ballot, allowing shareholders to choose among the different candidates in a contested election.

David Zervos is skeptical the Fed will be able to quickly declare victory over inflation and expects that a solid economic outlook should translate to a more restrictive Fed, for a longer duration.

It is common for highly levered sponsor-backed companies with liquidity needs and/or upcoming maturities to engage in liability management exercises, which often includes creating a new priming tranche of secured debt (an “Uptier”) or transferring assets out of the secured collateral package (a “Drop Down”).

With a mix of economic and market headwinds prevailing against M&A activity in 2022 and 2023, financial sponsors’ exits have been expectedly muted. As such, many sponsors have resorted to fundamental buy and build strategies to create value over a longer time period.

The convertible debt new issue market in 2023 has been frequented by companies seeking a lower cash interest alternative to what is being offered in the high yield and investment grade debt markets. 

Due to strong market fundamentals and lack of historical new issue supply, companies should take advantage of the market window through refinancing, repricing, and dividend transactions.

Amid an uptick in new-issue activity, Jefferies has been the most active investment bank in underwriting new LBOs. We are an arranger on 6 of the 7 LBOs expected to come in September / October, and are Left Lead on 3 of these transactions.

Jefferies’ Global Research teams detail the possible implications for a slimmer consumer, with sticky behavioral changes, across 7 sectors. They identify ~80 companies that could benefit and ~80 that may find this a structural headwind.