Blog Post
Data Drop: M&A Financing is Back, and North America is Setting the Pace
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activity has officially returned to the leveraged loan market. In the third quarter of 2026, acquisition-linked loan volume across North America and Europe reached about $47 billion, up from $30.6 billion in Q2 and $29.5 billion a year ago. North America drove the bulk of this volume with $34.6 billion, while Europe more than doubled its Q2 total. The only quarter that surpassed this was Q1, with $65.9 billion of issuance, including a wave of jumbo buyouts that tested investor demand.
The share of issuance tied to M&A has climbed in tandem. In North America, it moved from 12.4% in Q2 to 17.7% in Q3, reaching 37.6% so far in Q4. Europe is running even higher, though thin overall supply makes the numbers look more dramatic. Although Europe was quiet over the summer, its buyout pipeline has rebounded quickly, with banks pointing to roughly €23.7 billion in October supply.
Still, the market is not moving in lockstep. Bond issuance has slowed sharply amid this month’s volatility, whereas loan books for BB and stronger single-B credits remain heavily oversubscribed. Investors are being more selective with lower-quality and AI-linked credits, and the conversation is shifting away from new supply to the path of interest rates. Ultimately, M&A is once again a primary driver of leveraged finance, widening the gap between well-received deals and the rest of the market.
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