LBO Defaults May Rise as About $500 Billion Comes Due - Bloomberg

July 4 (Bloomberg) -- Leveraged-buyout loan defaults may be ``significantly higher'' than ratings companies' estimates as about $500 billion of debt used to fund the takeovers comes due, the Bank for International Settlements said.

Companies bought by private-equity firms worldwide must repay the high-risk, high-yield loans and bonds by 2010, the Basel, Switzerland-based bank said in a report today, citing Fitch Ratings data. They may find it hard to raise the cash because of a slump in demand for collateralized debt obligations that pool the loans, BIS said.