The Migration of Direct Lending Down-market: How Sub-$50M EBITDA Companies Are Accessing Private Credit
In the wake of a historic period of bank retrenchment, a financing revolution is taking place that's reshaping how smaller...
Forward for Specialty Finance
The Non-Bank Wave: How Non-Bank Lenders Are Redefining Middle Market Capital Structures in 2025
Non-bank lenders---independent finance companies and private credit funds---are surging past traditional banks, wielding flexible financing tools to reshape capital structures...
The Regulatory Horizon for Specialty Finance: Preparing for New Oversight
By Lisa RafterAs specialty finance fuels middle market dealmaking in 2025, a wave of pending regulations looms on the horizon,...
ABL vs. Cash Flow Lending: The Convergence of Structures in Middle Market Deals
By Lisa Rafter The once-distinct lines between asset-based lending and cash flow lending are continuing to fade, giving rise to...
Asset Quality Concerns Mount in Asset-Based Lending as Economic Headwinds Persist
As economic turbulence intensifies in Q1/2025, asset-based lending (ABL) faces growing scrutiny over asset quality across sponsored and non-sponsored deals....
Fed’s Powell Revives ‘Transitory’ — What It Means for Middle-Market Dealmaking
In a surprising throwback to 2021, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell dusted off the word “transitory” during Wednesday’s post-meeting press...
20,000+ Middle Market Dealmakers, One Pulse
March 18, 2025 – The ABF Journal has launched Digital Pulse 2025, a new digital-only publication designed to connect the...
M&A Sector Spotlight: Energy 2025 Outlook
Energy M&A stormed back in 2024, racking up $135 billion across 280 transactions—an 18% surge from 2023, according to PitchBook....
M&A Sector Spotlight: Manufacturing 2025 Outlook
U.S. manufacturing M&A surged to $92 billion across 340 deals in 2024, a 15% rise from 2023, according to PitchBook....
Acquisition Financing in the Middle Market: The Shift to Alternative and Specialty Debt Solutions
Introduction: A New Playbook for Private Equity and Specialty Finance The middle market’s acquisition financing game has flipped over the...
