Hermes adds ex-UBS official to private debt team
Hermes Investment Management has appointed a European leveraged finance specialist to its private debt team

Partners Group private debt assets hit €15.36 billion
Partners Group, the Swiss alternatives manager, secured €5 billion of new private debt commitments in 2018, propelling the firm’s private debt assets under management to €15.36bn

Allianz GI expands private debt team with senior hire
The new hire will be responsible for developing Allianz GI’s mid-market debt offering across Germany

BlueBay targets €5 billion for European direct lending strategy
BlueBay Asset Management is targeting €5 billion for its latest European direct lending strategy, according to documents seen by Creditflux, and has won $125 million in commitments from two US pension funds

Muzinich surpasses target with €706 million pan-European debt fund
Muzinich & Co has held a final close for its Muzinich Pan-European Private Debt Fund at €706.25 million, surpassing its initial €500 million target 

Majority of investors seek to increase private credit allocations, BlackRock survey reveals
Over half of investors plan to increase their allocation to private credit in 2019, according to an institutional client rebalancing report published by BlackRock

Strathclyde pension looks to allocate up to £1.1 billion into credit
Glasgow City Council, the administering authority for the Strathclyde Pension Fund, has launched request for proposals (RFP) seeking to appoint investment managers specialising in private corporate debt and real estate debt.

Muzinich poaches Neuberger Berman MD for top fund distribution role
Muzinich has hired a global head of distribution, according to an announcement today, picking up the role previously held by Joshua Hughes, who left for CIFC Asset Management in May

Proskauer expands restructuring practice with partner in London
Law firm Proskauer Rose has strengthened its restructuring capabilities with the appointment of Elisabeth Baltay as partner

Head of European private debt Bone earns promotion at Partners
Partners Group’s head of private debt in Europe, Christopher Bone, has been promoted to partner as one of 10 senior-level promotions announced by the firm

Credit Suisse and Patrimonium launch direct lending fund and plan a follow-up
Credit Suisse and Patrimonium have completed the launch of a new direct lending fund which has reached CHF165 million ($167 million).

Muzinich aims to take granular portfolio tactic across Europe
Muzinich has put together what it describes as a “direct lending 2.0” strategy, which it anticipates will serve as a solution to the constraints faced by middle market lenders in Europe. The firm launched the Italian version of the strategy in November via its Italian subsidiary Springrowth SGR and is looking to create follow-ups in other European jurisdictions

Swiss financial company SYZ launches private markets division
The family-owned Swiss financial group has launched a private markets division to invest and advise across private equity, private debt and real estate - as it is “too big to ignore”

Amundi surpasses €800 million target for third European direct lending fund
Amundi Dette Senior FPE III will provide debt financing to European mid-sized companies, primarily focusing on French mid-market companies

Robus targets €300 million for second distressed debt fund
Robus Capital has held a first close for its second distressed fund, Robus Recovery Fund II, Creditflux understands

Spanish bank prices €972 million SRT with triple As paying 31bp
Cajamar Caja Rural, based in southern Spain, has priced a €972.1 million significant risk transfer (SRT), according to market sources

EQT raises its second European direct lending fund
EQT has raised €2.3 billion for a European direct lending fund, exceeding its initial €1 billion target

Singapore fund to lend to financial institutions in emerging and developing markets
Singapore’s EFA Group is aiming to raise $100 million for a fund that will lend to banks and financial institutions in emerging and developing economies

KKR promotes three European credit specialists to managing directors
KKR has promoted several members of its team to managing directors - including a former US CLO portfolio manager

Sweden eases investment law for pension funds
The Swedish parliament has approved investment guidelines giving the country’s four state pension plans greater freedom to invest in illiquid markets    

Blackstone builds on multi-asset approach with fifth fund
The new vehicle will invest directly into Blackstone deals across its alternatives platform

Tikehau fund edges towards €1.6 billion close with €75 million EIB commitment
The European Investment Bank has approved a €75 million commitment to Tikehau Investment Management

AlbaCore registers second credit fund as debut strategy nears full capacity
AlbaCore Capital has recently registered AlbaCore Partners II, indicating the private debt and opportunistic credit investment firm could soon be back on the fundraising trail, less than eight months after closing AlbaCore Partners I

Crestline holds $600 million final close for PE-focused financing fund
The new fund will provide financing to private equity funds post their investment period, allowing them to provide follow-on growth capital to portfolio companies or additional liquidity