It’s never just one reason that a private credit firm wins a deal. It could be down to offering the lowest price, waiving financial covenants, or signing off on a credit agreement before a letter of intent is finalized. Alternatively, it could just be firms doling out loan amortization holidays. At least that’s what 9fin is hearing after speaking with nearly a dozen market participants. Ultimately, those sources added how lenders agreeing, and often readily offering such holidays, is yet another indication of an increasingly starved direct lending market inundated with participants needing to get deals done. “Lenders have to understand this is the cost of doing business now, so they have to play ball,” Kristopher Ring, a partner at Goodwin told 9fin. "Because of how big the private credit market is now, you have to be able to stretch and be able to offer a better package.”