Swan song for hung bridges as Golden Goose readies bonds

Golden Goose, the Italian shoemaker bought by Permira just before the coronavirus pandemic struck Europe, is looking for €470m of senior secured bonds in what may be the last repayment of a bridge facility signed before Covid. Hung bridges for leveraged buyouts were a serious concern for banks at the height of the pandemic but due to governments and central banks supporting the financial markets, lenders sold down the positions successfully — mostly much earlier than Golden Goose, writes Silas Brown.