Barings BDC forms $550 million JV with South Carolina pension
The new joint venture will invest in both liquid and illiquid credit

The Last Tranche: awards season is upon us [podcast]
A look at 2018 award offerings and finalist, plus some insight on direct lending and b-wics

Jefferies subsidiary and Stonyrock plan mid-market alternative manager stake acquisitions
The new joint venture will invest in private equity, credit, hedge funds, real estate, venture, and infrastructure firms

BlackRock names global alternatives head amid senior leadership shake-up
BlackRock has reshuffled its leadership and made several senior changes across various parts of its business, according to an internal memo seen by Creditflux

Ares grows credit 34% with direct lending boost, but high yield takes rough ride in Q4
Ares Management Corporation reported strong returns for its European direct lending strategies in the fourth quarter of 2018. But the firm's overall revenues slumped and its US loan funds and high yield strategies were hit by the volatile credit market 

Carlyle performance dips in Q4, but credit teams ride global volatility
Credit fund performance dipped for the Carlyle Group in the fourth quarter, as market volatility and fund outflows put a dent in the industry’s much stronger performance of the previous three quarters

Performing credit tops distressed credit for Blackstone, but credit AUM declines
The firm is looking to boost its direct lending business to gain $10 billion of available capital over the next couple of years

Callan hires Cliffwater senior MD as head of alternatives
Callan, an institutional investment consultant, has appointed Pete Keliuotis as head of alternatives and executive vice president.  

Eversheds Sutherland promotes debt specialist to partner
Eversheds Sutherland has promoted one of its Washington based lawyers to partner

Neiman Marcus loan slumps amid debt restructuring talks
The luxury fashion retailer’s $2.95 billion cov-lite term loan B, due October 2020, traded down 1.65%, according to IHS Markit 

Blackstone builds on multi-asset approach with fifth fund
The new vehicle will invest directly into Blackstone deals across its alternatives platform

Recent CLO debutant Vista brings in GSO official to lead credit team
Vista Credit Partners has hired a former GSO official to lead its credit team

California pension fund seeks opportunistic credit manager
Merced County Employees’ Retirement Association is on the search for an opportunistic credit manager, according to board minutes seen by Creditflux

Ares ups its target for US senior direct lending growth to $4.7 billion
Following $5 billion of inflows into global direct lending in the third quarter, Ares has upped the target for its US direct lending strategy 

TSSP launches capital solutions fund
TPG Sixth Street Partners (TSSP), the credit platform of private equity giant TPG, has launched a fund to target late stage growth companies

Alaska fund appoints CIO
Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC), the $65 billion sovereign wealth fund, has promoted an official to chief investment officer.

BlackRock becomes latest manager to explore interval fund structure for credit
Several managers have hit the market with the interval fund structure, as investors look to invest in illiquid strategies through an illiquid fund structure

CPPIB hires high profile European credit portfolio manager in London
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has hired an experienced PM who previously worked on CLOs and private credit at Apollo

Private credit specialist rejoins Ares in Los Angeles
Ares Capital Management has appointed managing director Michael Zugay to its private credit team in Los Angeles 

Stifel builds out leveraged finance team with big hire
The new unit will focus on origination, underwriting, and syndication of leveraged loans and high-yield securities

Managers cash in as investors come calling
Credit management platforms are being viewed as attractive investments, with a slew of acquisitions taking place in recent months — mainly involving private credit operators

San Mateo pension fund commits $20 million to ABRY debt fund
San Mateo County Employees' Retirement Association (SamCERA) has mandated $20 million to a senior debt fund managed by Boston-headquartered ABRY Partners

Churchill bolsters senior origination team with three hires
Middle market specialist Churchill has hired three principals to expand its sponsor coverage team

Direct lenders express concern over proliferation of ‘adjusted ebitda’ terms

Texas pension fund puts $150 million into credit
A $29.7 billion pension fund has approved commitments to two credit fund managers