Morgan Stanley hires leveraged loan MD from Credit Suisse
Morgan Stanley has hired a leveraged loan managing director in London with over 15 years' market experience

US and Europe diverge as loan trading bands emerge on the continent
Europe and the US are on different courses with credit indices having drifted apart over the past month, say trading sources. Europe is expected to suffer fewer defaults to the extent that "it’s getting quite difficult for borrowers to default”, as one source put it. But the US has "higher growth potential due to its more dynamic economy"

Four managers join forces on gigantic £1.9 billion unitranche
The supersized transaction to Ardonagh Group, led by Ares, is the largest ever unitranche facility

Oaktree sets up North America sourcing and origination group
Oaktree intends for the platform to enhance its private credit sourcing and deal-origination capabilities

LP round-up: Champaign pension raises a glass (or bucket) to private credit
Institutional investors allocated over $600 million to 11 managers this week, according to board documentation seen by Creditflux

Zais ESG head to join DWS
Zais Group’s head of ESG (environmental, social, governance) and impact investing is joining DWS as group sustainability officer in New York

Bridgepoint buys EQT's credit business - report
Bridgepoint is buying the credit business of EQT, according to the Financial Times

CLOs dodge offshore driller as restructuring credit event question posed
The Americas Determinations Committee has been asked to rule on whether UK headquartered offshore driller Valaris has triggered a restructuring credit event

Cerberus raises $779 million for direct lending fund
Cerberus Business Finance is raising a new direct lending fund, according to regulatory filings

LP round-up: mighty Oaks win $1 billion apiece from Calpers
Credit investors allocated over $3 billion to 18 credit managers this week across a wide range of strategies

Värde targets $1 billion for inaugural dedicated credit dislocation fund
Värde is seeking to raise $1 billion for its dislocation and distressed debt fund, according to an investor presentation seen by Creditflux. The firm is targeting a first close this month

Sculptor CEO Shafir to step down with CIO taking dual role
Sculptor Capital Management has announced that its chief investment officer will take also take on the role of chief executive officer, effective 1 April 2021

Carlyle-backed firm introduces breakthrough ESG-linked term loan
Logoplaste Consultores Técnicos has become the first issuer to launch a term loan with the interest linked to environmental, social and governance factors

Neuberger launches 'flexible' global credit Ucits fund with $200 million
Neuberger Berman has launched a flexible global credit Ucits fund to expand its $150 billion fixed income platform

Beneath the triple C: downgrade rate slows as $8 billion of CLO loans tumble
May offered some respite to CLO portfolios as corporate downgrades to triple C were reduced heavily - affecting just $6.67 billion of US CLO paper and €1.09 billion of European CLO portfolios

Oaktree mixes defensive with opportunistic in new fund for recent hire
Oaktree Capital Management has launched a standalone absolute return fixed income fund for recent hire Brad Boyd, according to market sources

Pandemic underlines importance of the S in ESG as compliant companies outperform
For years, assessing environmental risks has been at the forefront of ESG (environmental, social, governance) investing, but there’s been a greater appreciation of the ‘S’ in ESG since the market sell-off in March

Oak Hill launches 'tactical' investment fund
Oak Hill Advisors is on the fundraising trail with regulatory filings indicating the credit specialist is launching a vehicle known as OHA Tactical Investment Fund

PGIM prepares listed credit fund
PGIM is marketing a ‘flexible’ listed fund, dubbed PGIM Strategic Credit Fund , to invest at least 80% across fixed income

Some managers calculated their CLOs were passing OC tests, only to find them failing the next day
Corporate credit downgrade storms have been weathered before, but this one has come out of season

Europe’s newcomers find ways to stand out
Last year’s new European CLO managers needed to provide something different for investors. In general, they’ve succeeded, with Capital Four having one of the smallest overlap figures in our data

Investcorp targets most liquid loans for new European credit fund
Investcorp Credit Management is targeting “the largest and most liquid European issues” after raising €318 million for a levered credit fund that invests in European loans

Scale of coronavirus-linked defaults divides credit market
As governments and central banks around the world plough money into the economy in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the loan and CLO markets are nevertheless bracing themselves for a corporate downgrade wave to turn into a default cycle

CLOs look at flipping frequency switch as corporates hold cash
European CLOs could be set to flick their ‘frequency switch mechanisms’ as a growing number of corporations go from paying quarterly to semi-annual coupons

CLOs face trading restrictions as bankruptcies mount
CLO managers could be handcuffed in impending bankruptcies if tranche downgrades continue and restricted trading periods kick in