Sponsors reshaping Europe’s chemicals sector add Iran fallout to buyout risks – Dealspeak EMEA
As concerns over European feedstock prices grow amid the fallout from war in the Middle East, the burning question is whether sponsors will continue to reshape the chemicals industry as they have over the past year, with the wave of private equity investment across Europe’s embattled sector names having shaken up an industry traditionally moulded by strategic players

European CLO issuance restarts after brief lull as Bain prints new issue
European CLO issuance kicked into gear on Wednesday morning after a short lull, as Bain Capital priced its first new Euro print for the year with a EUR 403m print via BNP Paribas

Optimism and pessimism hand-in-hand
In this issue, we address the credit markets’ shift to a negative tone. But there’s still much optimism. More CLO managers are launching. We spoke to 10 at various stages of starting up a business. Large investors like CalPERS and Singapore’s GIC are taking a flexible approach that may drive capital to private markets

Direct lenders hit hard as credit market reels from war and AI
Volatility has come back to credit markets. Artificial intelligence’s impact on corporate earnings, a war in Iran that is ensnaring the rest of the Middle East and upticks in inflationary pressures are weighing on managers

‘We are trying to discern who has a moat and who doesn’t’
Investor's Corner with Laila Kollmorgen, portfolio manager at PineBridge Investments

News in brief
Top stories on creditflux.com: firms are planning launches and issuance despite slump

‘The enthusiasm has been great’
Why are so many new managers launching? Creditflux spoke to 10 who started a CLO business and found that, while it may sometimes be fraught, it’s a rewarding and enjoyable challenge

Direct lending braces for redrawn landscape
After a stellar 2025, direct lenders are coming under pressure. Large-cap financings are colliding with record tight spreads in public markets, while competition is rising in mid-market lending

Germany plans to invest EUR 108bn on defence in 2026 and EUR 152bn in 2029
Procurement struggles and foreign investment rules mean German defence spending isn’t quite the boon to private credit it might seem

CLO portfolios are diversified across sectors — but not by business model
Sector analysis isn’t deep enough to discover which companies will be boosted by AI — and which will nosedive

AI will upend operational models in a very short space of time
With online travel firm equities and life insurer CDS already off by a third, the systemic risk of AI is real

Fund performance – March 2026
Mixed month for CLO funds mars credit’s positive start to 2026

Credit funds at a glance – March 2026
Our roundup of top performers, fundraising and moves in credit

Credit hedge funds – March 2026
Credit hedge fund performance

CLOs at a glance – January 2026
Our list of recent CLO pricings globally

CLO Symposium 2026
The Creditflux CLO Symposium will be held at the The Chancery Rosewood, London on 20-21 April 2026

Blackstone to launch new private multi-asset products for affluent individuals
The new products, expected to come in the following months, will offer exposure to multiple private market asset strategies at once

Citi announces debt capital markets co-heads, including a hire from BofA
The new co-heads will fill the open spot left by head of global debt capital markets Rich Zogheb, who is retiring after 40 years in the industry

CLO primary market in Europe to go quiet amid oil price upheaval – Acer Tree
EXCLUSIVE: No new issues are expected to reach the market this week as investors and managers take a wait-and-see approach following new geopolitical pressures 

Private credit still deploying despite increasing risks – head of credit at CVC
PODCAST: Andrew Davies, head of credit at CVC Capital Partners, says the present uncertainty offered opportunities to reconsider the pricing of transactions, and the ability to structure those deals more conservatively

Air Baltic and INEOS Quattro bonds fall, AD Education loan continues to slide – Market Comment
Latvian flagship airline Air Baltic’s EUR 380m 14.5% senior secured 2029 notes are 5 points down from Friday, while UK-based chemicals group INEOS Quattro’s EUR 775m 8.5% senior secured 2029 notes are 4.5 points down at 77.9-mid in the wake of rising costs stemming from the US/Iran conflict

Creditflux showcases contributions, achievements and observations of outstanding leaders – Trailblazing Women
EXCLUSIVE: For International Women's Day, Creditflux speaks to Octagon's Lauren Law, PineBridge's Laila Kollmorgen and Ropes & Gray's Shona Ha

AlbaCore targeting EUR 2bn for maiden funds
Backed by MUFG Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation; launching investment grade and high yield infrastructure credit funds, with MUFG to sell loans to the investment grade fund and provide seed capital for high yield

Global SRT issuance hits record USD 41bn in 2025
Issuance volumes were up 40% on 2024; large banks accounted for 90% of total issuance, with CRE and infra SRT issuance more than doubling year-on-year

Latest new Euro CLOs from HPS and Ares showcase significant spread widening from mid-February lows
The triple As for both HPS' Aqueduct European CLO 17 and Ares’ European CLO XXIV priced at Euribor plus 127bps, while the overall cost of debt has also widened out some 20bps from the levels seen in February