Direct lending hopeful Advent appoints chief of staff
$9 billion asset manager Advent has brought in a chief of staff and strategy

$36 billion pension fund raises its target allocation to private debt
A large US public pension fund has recently agreed to increase its target allocation to private debt

Hercules backs off from contract switch amid investor revolt
Hercules Capital has cancelled a planned shareholder meeting in which it was seeking approval for a controversial switch from internal to external management

Owl Rock adds new direct loans, taking BDC to over $1 billion
Owl Rock Capital has continued to make rapid progress in ramping up its private business development company, one of the biggest debut mid-market debt funds of recent years

TCW muscles in with bid to take over Hercules BDC
TCW has put forward a proposal to take over as manager of business development company Hercules Capital

Texas mid-market lender pulls in $180 million for second fund
A Houston-based mid-market specialist has raised just under $180 million in the first close of its second private equity-style fund, according to regulatory filings

Ares wins $1.1 billion in global direct lending SMAs in strong start to 2017
Direct lending proved to be Ares Management’s most successful strategy in fundraising terms with the firm registering $1.1 billion of inflows for European and US private debt in the first quarter

Investors dump venture lender Hercules on plan for external manager
Shares in publicly traded business development company Hercules Capital fell sharply last week, after the company announced that it was switching from being managed internally to employing an external advisor

West coast pension plans $300 million Carlyle mid-market allocation
Pension fund puts money into commingled fund and separate account with Carlyle Group

Credit manager ICG hires west coast marketer
London-based credit manager Intermediate Capital Group has announced that it has hired a marketing specialist on the US west coast

Fund manager sees global appeal for new $2 billion energy lending fund
EIG welcomes commitments from non-US based investors for its new direct lending fund

Highland shelves plans for format switch as interval funds gather pace
Instead of converting a mutual fund into an interval fund, Highland is looking to launch an interval fund - viewed as a investor-friendly alternative to BDCs - from scratch 

Direct lenders look to spread their wings and cross the Atlantic
Middle-market lending is becoming a global business amid talks of JVs

BlueBay, Brightwood and Permira win private debt mandates
BlueBay Asset Management, Brightwood Capital Advisors and Permira Debt Management have been tasked with overseeing a London pension fund’s direct lending portfolio

Tennessee pension fund turns its attention to non-sponsored direct lending
The $42 billion Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System is researching into direct lending opportunities

Chicago-based manager floats new $500 million loan fund
A mid-market specialist founded by two former American Capital officials is understood to be in the market with a new senior loan fund  

Twin Brook writes loan to support US-based lighting manufacturer
Angelo Gordon’s Twin Brook Capital Partners unit provided financing to support Harbour Group’s leveraged buyout of ILP, Creditflux understands

Credit manager bucks the trend by shifting into private equity
A host of private equity firms are planning direct lending funds, but one direct lender is moving in the opposite direction  

Former Apollo CIO quits troubled Fifth Street after four months
Fifth Street Asset Management announced yesterday that it has parted company with a founder partner of Apollo Global Management, brought in late last year as part of a shake-up at the company