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About half of the $1.5 billion in gross commitments Ares Capital made in the third quarter came from new lending relationships. LevFin Insights was able to identify 20 borrowers new to the lender, for $693 million in debt commitments (on a cost basis). LBO financing was identified as the use of proceeds on 11 of the new companies, each of which had a different sponsor.

The quarter’s largest LBO commitment for a new issuer was $96.2 million in first- and second-lien term loans for Genstar Capital to back the buyout of Progressive Datasolutions (PDI). The table below shows the four largest LBO investments for new relationships. Open the download to view all new issuers and corresponding holds, pricing and sponsors.

Portfolio action was light again this week, with six issuers emerging — all with opportunistic business — up from four the week prior that included some M&A in the mix. With little lining the forward M&A calendar, arrangers are reviving repricing activity, which has ebbed amid a leveling off of spreads. Last month, repricings totaled $18.3 billion, the lowest monthly total of 2017, according to LevFin Insights.

A dissection of the latest quarter’s BDC portfolios by LevFin Insights and Advantage Data shows that non-accruals dropped significantly over the past year. For the 24 public and nonpublic BDCs with at least $1 billion in assets under management, the non-accrual rate has retreated to an average of 1.77% for the three-month period ending June 30, down from 3.31% in the same period last year.

The middle market is blowing away most preconceived notions of what can and can’t clear the market today. Leverage offers one measure of how accommodating the market is, and while the numbers don’t show it, the shadow market has set new outer limits for highly regarded, sponsored names.