GSO to add two North American offices in 2019
The credit manager anticipates the offices will help expand the firm’s origination efforts in North America

Los Angeles pension to shortlist managers for private credit mandate
Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS) is set to short-listed six firms as semi-finalists as part of a $670 million private credit mandate.  

Owl Rock opens Silicon Valley office focused on technology origination
The $12 billion direct lender anticipates the office will better serve financial sponsors operating in the technology sector

Marathon proposes alternative to long-running Medley BDC merger dispute
Marathon has joined the race to take on two business development companies managed by Medley

"It makes no sense in a one-to-one world": Goldman BDC dissolves JV with pension fund
Goldman Sachs BDC (GSBD) has dissolved its joint venture partnership with Regents of the University of California as the Senior Credit Fund “no longer makes sense in a one-to-one world”, according to the business development company's Q4 2018 earnings call.

Capitala adds ex-Monroe official to lead Texas origination
Capitala Group has appointed an ex-Monroe managing director  to lead the origination in its newly opened Dallas office

Capitala BDC forms $150 million mid-market JV with Kempner
Capitala Finance Corporation and Kemper subsidiary Trinity Universal Insurance Company have teamed up to launch another direct lending joint venture, following a loan-focused JV in 2015

Alaska pension commits $545 million to seven credit funds
Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation has earmarked $545 million to funds across the credit spectrum across Q2, according to 27 February board documentation

Benefit Street affiliate BDC buys stake in ABL lender Siena
Business Development Corporation of America (BDCA), a non-traded business development company managed by Benefit Street Partners, has bought a controlling stake in Siena Capital Finance 

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 

Mid market CLO round-up: eyes (wide) open as mid-market CLOs re-awaken
AB returned to the middle market CLO space this week after a year out to price ABPCI V. It is the second middle market CLO of the year after Fortress Investment Group refinanced Fortress Credit Opportunities VII. 

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

AB returns to CLOs by pricing 2019's first mid-market new issue
AB Private Credit Investors, the middle market credit arm of AB, has become the first manager to price a new issue CLO backed by mid-market loans in 2019

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 

It’s going to be a credit picker’s market
Our panel of experts believe that the credit market will be volatile this year, but there will be opportunities in European credit and additional tier one bonds, trups CDOs and unitranches

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

CLO manager base to boom as four debut managers plan first-quarter launch with JP Morgan top choice of arranger
The US CLO market welcomed four new managers in 2018, but this year the same number could be launching in just the first quarter

Private credit managers are partially insulated from daily market moves — for them it’s the dough, not the Dow
If asked about credit investing, Yogi Berra might have said take the fork in the road leading to private credit, says our columnist Randy Schwimmer

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%