Californian pension eyes commitment to THL direct lending fund
RVK, the general investment consultant of the Santa Barbara County Employees’ Retirement System (SBCERS), has recommended the $2.8 billion US pension fund commit up to $25 million to THL Credit Direct Lending Fund IV

Prudential adds mid market energy specialist to lead fund origination
Prudential Capital Group, the private capital arm of PGIM, has appointed a managing director of Prudential Capital Energy Partners

Churchill appoints head of underwriting
Churchill Asset Management has announced several promotions including head of underwriting and managing director, underwriting and portfolio management

Direct lender suspends withdrawals amid large loan default, reports Bloomberg
A borrower comprising 25% of a direct lender's portfolio has defaulted on a loan - leading to the fund suspending withdrawals and redemptions to investors

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 

San Francisco pension deploys $125 million into private credit
San Francisco City and County Employees' Retirement System has bolstered its private debt bucket, making a $125 million commitment to a senior debt fund and opportunistic credit fund that builds on other private debt investments since last year

HPS targets $8 billion for flagship mezzanine strategy
HPS Mezzanine Partners 2019, the firm's fourth fund in its mezzanine strategy, has won $100 million from a Louisiana pension fund 

SEC proposal could strengthen BDCs’ power to purchase funds
The Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) has released proposals to allow regulated US funds, including listed funds, closed-end funds and business development companies (BDCs), to acquire shares of other regulated funds in excess of current limitations

Tree Line grows $300 million US lower mid-market debt fund
Tree Line Capital Partners is targeting $300 million for its second lower-middle market direct lending fund, according to 6 February US regulatory filings

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

Oaktree reports distressed gains over year despite Q4 losses
Oaktree was not immune from challenging fourth quarter globally. Its distressed debt strategy, for instance, returned a gross loss of 1.5%

LBC hires former GE official as managing director in Chicago
LBC has made a senior hire to its direct lending business and has also promoted one of its managing directors to partner

New York pension fund allocates $150 million to special situations fund
The new investment will sit within the pension fund’s opportunistic alternatives bucket

Bain BDC wins leverage approval from shareholders
Bain Capital Speciality Finance has won shareholder approval to double the amount of leverage it can use 

Medley and Sierra fight back over NexPoint's "$225 million value" claims
Medley Capital Corporation and Sierra Income Corporation have issued a joint statement disputing facts claimed by Highland affiliate NexPoint Advisors 

Eldridge snaps up co-founder stake for majority ownership in direct lender Maranon
Eldridge Industries has acquired a majority ownership position in the middle-market lender, buying an additional stake from Marnon co-founder Tom Gregory

New York pension ups commitment to HarbourVest by $400 million
New York State Teachers' Retirement System has topped up commitments to Maple Fund, having already approved $600 million in 2017

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

FrontFour continues to urge shareholders to vote against Medley BDC merger
FrontFour Capital Group, a shareholder with 3.8% ownership of Medley Capital Corporation, has issued yet another statement for shareholders to vote against the proposed merger of Medley Management with Sierra Income Corporation. 

Activist nominates directors to Alcentra BDC's board amid "shareholder value" dispute
Activist group Stilwell is seeking board representation for the $248.6 million BDC, as Alcentra "fails to maximise shareholder value"

Golding holds €580 million final close for private debt fund
Golding Capital Partners has held a final close for its private debt fund strategy at €580 million

San Francisco pension plans to deploy $800 million to private credit in 2019
San Francisco Employee’s Retirement System will allocate $800 million to its private credit bucket in the coming year, to reach its 10% target allocation 

WhiteHorse forms $125 million middle-market JV with Ohio pension
The $79.8 billion Ohio pension fund has teamed up with WhiteHorse to form a joint venture that will have a $375 million total lending capacity

Portfolio Advisors garners $200 million for third mezzanine credit fund
Portfolio Advisors has begun fundraising for its third mezzanine opportunistic credit fund, PA Direct Credit Opportunities Fund III

Californian pension to invest $500 million in private markets in 2019
San Bernardino County Employees Retirement Association plans to invest $500 million in private assets over 2019, according to a presentation by the pension fund’s investment consultant NEPC.