Mayer Brown expands credit fund capabilities with New York partner
Global law firm Mayer Brown has boosted its credit fund formation practice with the appointment for Aubry Smith

ICG reports €4.8 billion of inflows over three months after direct lending success
Intermediate Capital Group has released its quarter end results - showing strong inflows and deployment

Audax wins $100 million direct lending mandate from US pension fund
The $3.5 billion Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System has awarded $100 million to a US direct lending fund managed by Audax Group

Capital Dynamics hires senior business development MD
Capital Dynamics has appointed Elizabeth Phillip as managing director and head of North American business development

FS and KKR merge BDCs to create second-largest publicly traded BDC
FS Investments and KKR Credit yesterday agreed to merge FS Investment Corporation (FSIC) and Corporate Capital Trust (CCT), in a move that has created the second largest publicly-traded BDC behind Ares Capital Corporation  

Houlihan Lokey launches US loan platform and signs up HPS
Global investment bank Houlihan Lokey has launched a new syndicated leveraged finance platform as part of its capital markets group in response to “significant client demand” 

Californian pension fund assigns $25 million to Monroe direct lending strategy
As part of its private credit pacing plan, the $5.4 billion pension fund will make a $75 million commitment to direct lending funds each year for the next three years

Barings adds BDC specialist Jonathan Bock to its team
Barings anticipates that Bock will serve as chief financial officer to its earlier announced stock purchase of publicly traded BDC Triangle Capital Corporation 

AB raises $83 million for its second US direct lending fund
AB Private Credit Investors, the middle market direct lending platform of AllianceBernstein, has launched its second middle market fund 

Pacific Advisors receives $220 million inflows for credit fund
California-headquartered Pacific Advisors has raised at least $220 million for its second private credit offering

Connecticut pension fund looks to mandate $140 million to private debt
Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds mandated $50 million to Balance Point Capital and is looking to invest up to $90 million to Intermediate Capital Group

Texas pension fund earmarks $650 million to four private debt funds
Angelo Gordon, HIG Whitehorse and Värde have secured commitments from the Texas pension fund for their direct lending funds

Sovereign investors' allocation to alternative credit increase rapidly, finds survey
Sovereign investors are increasing their exposure to CLOs, direct lending and bank loans, according to a 2018 Global Sovereign Asset Management Study published by Invesco this week

Ironwood exceeds $400 million target for fourth mezzanine fund
Connecticut-based private equity firm Ironwood Capital has held a final close on Ironwood Mezzanine Fund IV 

Japanese pension fund allocation to alternatives reaches record high, survey reveals
The average Japanese institutional investor now allocates 17.1% of their portfolio to alternative assets, according to a JP Morgan Asset Management survey.

Owl Rock targets $1 billion for first lien-focused loan fund
New York-headquartered credit manager Owl Rock is eyeing a massive $1 billion for its new first-lien debt focused vehicle, which will sit alongside its existing BDCs 

Oaktree's direct lending expansion gathers pace with new US fund
Los-Angeles headquartered Oaktree Capital has raised at least $85 million for its mid-market direct lending fund

Orrick adds direct lending specialist as partner
Global law firm Orrick has expanded its finance practice with the appointment of Vincenzo Paparo

Pacific Current acquires stake in Chicago-based private debt manager
Sydney-headquartered Pacific Current Group has acquired a 24.9% stake in Chicago-based Victory Park Capital

Capital Dynamics registers debut direct lending fund
Zug-based Capital Dynamics is looking to launch Capital Dynamics US Middle Market Credit Fund after establishing a private credit business over the last 12 months

BDCs turn to CLO financing as effective alternative to bilateral leverage agreements
Business development companies now have the ability to take on an extra turn of leverage, but rating constraints mean they could end up using CLOs instead

Neuberger's Dyal acquires minority stake in HPS
Dyal Partners, a division of Neuberger Berman, has acquired a minority equity stake in global credit manager HPS Investment Partners

Orix acquires US mid-market lender NXT
Japanese financial services firm Orix, has agreed to acquire US mid-market lender NXT Capital

Alcentra hires co-heads of US direct lending
Alcentra has moved into the US direct lending space - and has appointed Suhail Shaikh and Peter Glaser as managing directors and co-heads of its US direct lending business

Ohio pension fund seeks to deploy $200 million in private credit
An Ohio pension fund is looking to commit $200 million to private credit in the next year