UBS forecasts strong private credit returns in 2025, but also downside risks
UBS Global Research has tipped double-digit returns for US investors in its 2025 private credit outlook, but emphasised the risks are skewed to the downside

Barings hires Churchill MD for private debt originations
Barings Global Private Finance has hired a managing director from Churchill Asset Management to serve as a managing director for North America Private Credit

HPS deal is expensive but catapults BlackRock into private credit top five
BlackRock is poised to become one of the largest private credit managers in the world after agreeing to buy private credit manager HPS Investment Partners at a rich 30x multiple

Janus Henderson highlights agency mortgages in new fixed-income ETF
John Kerschner views agency mortgages as the cheapest thing in fixed-income and has a high allocation for the new JIII ETF   

US corporate bond spreads hit all time tights
US corporate bond spreads hit all-time tights last week with both the investment-grade and high yield composite bond spreads in the US breaking records

Public Pensions, Private Pursuits: 18th November
CalPERS reveals USD 2.9bn private credit commitments as Sacramento, East Bay, San Francisco refine debt strategy

Brookfield Credit invests USD 1bn in 17Capital
Brookfield Asset Management’s private credit investment division, Brookfield Credit, has agreed to invest USD 1bn into 17Capital’s private credit strategies

Crayhill nears USD 1bn target for an asset-based credit fund
Crayhill Capital Management has raised more than USD 830m, approaching its USD 1bn target, for a asset-based credit fund called Principal Strategies Fund III, according to a SEC filing 

Altice France reminds creditors that unrestricted subsidiaries can be freely spun-off
Altice France's debt documents permit the XpFibre spin-off, and most credit agreements and high yield bond indentures permit the distribution of the equity in unrestricted subsidiaries

LPs monitor private credit managers as PIK use rises
As the use of payment-in-kind in direct lending increases, LPs are worried that the tool is being co-opted by the wrong strategies and offered to low-quality borrowers

Barings adds two private credit MDs for North America
Barings Global Private Finance has hired two managing directors, Brian Polomsky and Doug Koch, for its North America Private Credit team from Principal Asset Management

Aquarian prints first new CLO in Gallatin series in more than year
A USD 399.80m US BSL CLO is the first new issue from Aquarian since the print of Gallatin X in August of last year

PIK use rises to 12% of sponsored direct lending deals - KBRA
Sponsor-backed companies using payment-in-kind for senior debt now account for 12% of the KBRA DLD Direct Lending Index, an increase of 1% from the last quarter

Direct lending defaults decline for all except middle market according to Proskauer
Default rates for US direct loans declined to 1.95% in the third quarter of 2024 from 2.71% in the second quarter, according to a new report from law firm Proskauer

TPG Angelo Gordon raises nearly USD 2bn for private credit strategy
TPG Angelo Gordon has raised USD 1.82bn so far for its private credit fund called TPG AG Credit Solutions Fund III which is targeting USD 4.5bn in commitments
   

LME threat pushes creditors to join or die ad hoc groups, co-ops
Creditors looking to survive LMEs relatively unscathed increasingly have two options: join the majority ad-hoc group or hope debtholders organize under an inclusive cooperation agreement

Apollo raises USD 4.8bn for large cap direct lending
Apollo Global Management has closed its Apollo Origination Partnership Fund II, raising approximately USD 4.8bn of investable capital

Special situations funds shift from distressed debt to flexible, all-weather capital strategies
As struggling companies turn to liability management techniques to gain the upper hand against lenders, a new bankruptcy-lite environment is forcing funds to play across the capital stack 

Europe still leads US in SRT as banks diversify types of risk transferred
Despite copious headlines about the arrival of US banks to the significant risk transfer (SRT) market, Europe continues to lead the charge

European direct lending firms raise record funds in third quarter
European direct lending fundraising jumped up a notch last month, as year-to-date figures almost doubled in a few final closes

September 2024 US Leveraged Highlights
While new money activity in the loan market reached its highest point in the last 18 months in 3Q24, it remains significantly lower than historical averages

LBOs on the rebound: How leveraged loans are stealing the spotlight from direct lenders in 2024
2024 has seen a resurgence in LBO activity, with many of the largest deals opting for leveraged loans over direct lending for financing

Fidelity adds another senior private debt hire as US expansion continues
Fidelity Investments has hired Lendell Thompson from Vista Credit, the latest of six senior investment professionals added to its US direct lending business

Desperate direct lenders kept in the dark as private equity firms call shots
The intensifying fight for sparse private credit opportunities is enabling M&A bankers to keep lenders in the dark

Fund performance
CLOs feel the heat from corporate long-short and ucits funds in July; top ten credit funds in July 2024