Crestline bags $360 million for inaugural European opportunities fund
Crestline Investors has held a final close on its inaugural European special situations fund, Crestline Opportunity Fund III Europe, at $360 million, surpassing its original $300 million target size

Man hires real estate loan specialist from JP Morgan
Man Group has hired an investment director to its European private debt team

Barings prices CLO backed by mid market loans
Barings has produced its third CLO transaction backed by loans to middle market companies

NEPC sees bias toward private markets despite lower return expectations
NEPC sees private markets in 2020 as a way for institutional investors to withstand volatility, said its director of asset allocation, Phillip Nelson, during a Q3 update yesterday

US pension backs Pimco to reach private credit target
Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association (VCERA) is set to commit an additional $25 million to Pimco Private Income Fund

UK pension hires BNP Paribas AM for starring role in core-satellite private credit fund
UK pension fund Nest has appointed BNP Paribas Asset Management to run the core of a private credit fund, sources say, in an arrangement which sees Amundi and BlackRock manage certain satellite investments  

US pension allocates to Golub in bid to boost 'non-core fixed income' bucket
The State of New Mexico Investment Council has awarded $100 million to a senior debt fund managed by Golub Capital Partners, as part of a plan to bolster its non-core fixed income bucket

Russell and Mediobanca launch multi-asset fund with CLO allocation
Mediobanca Private Banking has joined forces with Russell Investments to set up a fund that has a 20% allocation to credit, sources say  

Portfolio Advisors wins $75 million for third mezzanine credit fund
Connecticut-based Portfolio Advisors has been backed by a US pension scheme and has plans to launch a senior debt initiative focused on first lien senior secured loans

Pimco's evergreen private debt fund attracts another US pension
Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System has become the latest manager to commit to Pimco's open-ended private credit fund 

CVC appoints director to bolster French private debt origination
The new hire is based in Paris and brings more than 15 years of financial market experience

Maryland pension allocates $25 million to evergreen private debt fund
Anne Arundel County Retirement and Pension System has allocated $25 million to an evergreen private credit fund managed by Pimco

UK pension awards private credit mandates and eyes co-investments
Nest, a UK defined contribution pension scheme, has selected Amundi and BlackRock as private credit managers, to manage a global real estate and global infrastructure debt mandate, respectively.  

Mid market CLO league tables: Golub and Natixis increase their leads
August saw over $2 billion of issuance in the mid market space with managers that have been active this year, returning managers and debut managers all pricing last month. 

Capital Four holds final close on nordic direct lending fund
The Copenhagen-based manager has held an €343 million final close for its latest private debt fund, according to market sources

RiverRock launches direct lending fund in partnership with European bank
RiverRock has launched a European direct lending fund in which it has signed an exclusive co-investment agreement with a bank

Oaktree BDC appoints CLO specialist as CEO and CIO
Oaktree Speciality Lending Corporation has appointed its new chief executive officer and chief investment officer, following the resignation of the incumbent CEO and CIO Edgar Lee

Minnesota pension slates $100 million for private credit
The pension fund has so far allocated $2.4 billion to private credit across 12 managers and 25 funds

Crescent BDC buys Alcentra BDC in $141.9 million transaction
As part of the deal, the combined business development company will go public and charge lower management fees

BDC consolidation continues with Oak Hill and BC Partners-affiliate merger
The consolidation of US business development companies continues... this time, with the merger of OHA Investment Corporation and Portman Ridge Finance Corporation

Investors are very focused on ESG: it’s driving them and us, and rightly so
My career in credit began just over 20 years ago, working in KPMG’s restructuring team and advising banks on their troubled loans. It was a pretty steep learning curve as every company was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. But I learned that controlling cash flow is vital and how to prioritise what’s most important about a company. I still use those same skills every day.

UK direct lending deal flow picks up with 99 deals in H1, finds GCA Altium
While loan volumes in the UK were much higher than expected, activity in Germany was lower compared to H1 last year, according to the GCA Altium MidCap Monitor Q2 2019

Kayne Anderson targets direct lending and liquid credit mix for new fund
Kayne Anderson is looking to launch a closed-ended fund focused on direct lending, liquid credit and energy and infrastructure equity investments

GSO adds $10 billion to inflows with direct lending, structured credit and energy
Blackstone grew its credit assets under management to $139.3 billion, up 13% on a year ago, according to the firm's second quarter earnings release

UK pension pool to launch maiden private credit offering
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership is launching its first private credit offering in early Q4, Creditflux has learned