In April, one of this year’s biggest loan deals caught the attention of the credit market. Tech hardware firm Park Place Technologies secured $US1.7 billion ($2.5 billion) of funding from Blackstone, the proceeds of which were used to repay lenders and allow its private equity owners to take some money off the table.
The package included $US400 million of payment-in-kind notes, in which the borrower can defer interest. PIKs are a credit bull-market feature that have made a comeback, suggestive an easing of lending standards.