Abbott’s $17.2 billion loan backing St. Jude acquisition set to boost M&A volume

A US$17.2bn bridge loan that backs Abbott Laboratories’ US$25bn acquisition of medical device maker St. Jude Medical will boost investment grade loan volume that so far this year has been depressed by volatility in equities and global economic uncertainty. The Bank of America Merrill Lynch-led transaction will hike merger and acquisition-related volume of investment grade deals after issuance dropped to US$28.5bn in the first quarter from US$46.6bn in the fourth quarter of 2015 and US$71.6