With 2025 drawing to a close, CLO managers are positioning for a meaningful rebound in leveraged buyouts and corporate dealmaking in 2026. While M&A volumes have remained low by historical standards, there is a growing expectation that financing conditions will improve enough to support a new wave of sponsor-led transactions.
In recent months, several managers have started putting new CLO structures in motion. The logic is straightforward: when private equity sponsors return to the market with larger deals, they will need debt financing. Those loans can be packaged into new CLO portfolios, offering fresh collateral and wider spreads than legacy exposures. For managers, that creates both a fee opportunity and a chance to improve overall performance at the equity level.
Select high-profile transactions have recently cleared syndication, and private equity firms are starting to revisit stalled deals. CLO managers are using this window to prepare portfolios and capitalise on reinvestment periods. New CLOs launched today could benefit from stronger loan supply and more attractive pricing in the coming quarters, especially if deal flow picks up as expected.
Volta Finance Ltd (LON:VTA) is a closed-ended limited liability company registered in Guernsey. Volta’s investment objectives are to seek to preserve capital across the credit cycle and to provide a stable stream of income to its Shareholders through dividends that it expects to distribute on a quarterly basis.
