Credit Rendezvous: record fiscal stimulus provides pick-me-up
Credit markets had a mini bounce-back in the second quarter as central banks poured cash into the economy. But there is great uncertainty about the effects of a second wave of coronavirus. As part of our quarterly report on credit - the Credit Rendezvous - Creditflux spoke to experts across 12 segments of the credit market

Two large managers prepare CLO funds
Another two managers have joined the plethora of firms launching CLO-focused funds of late including CIFC, Capital Four, DFG, Eagle Point, Neuberger Berman, Octagon, and Tetragon

LP round up: managers keep fundraising hopes high as GSO targets $7.5 billion for mezz offering
Institutional investors allocated $1.6 billion into credit this week, according to documents seen by Creditflux

Golding holds first close for private debt vehicle
Munich-headquartered fund-of-funds manager Golding Capital Partners has held a first close on almost €200 million for its private debt fund Golding Private Debt 2020

Apollo joins forces with Mubadala for big direct lending deals
Apollo Global Management has launched a ‘large scale direct lending’ platform, which it says is anchored by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company

US and Europe diverge as loan trading bands emerge on the continent
Europe and the US are on different courses with credit indices having drifted apart over the past month, say trading sources. Europe is expected to suffer fewer defaults to the extent that "it’s getting quite difficult for borrowers to default”, as one source put it. But the US has "higher growth potential due to its more dynamic economy"

Lufthansa climbs as shareholder airs bailout grievances
Deutsche Lufthansa is among today's biggest underperformers in credit and stock markets, as a battle brews with its largest shareholder over the terms of a €9 billion government bailout for the airline

Fair Oaks tops up on double B CLO tranches in May
Fair Oaks topped up on double B-rated CLO tranches in its listed CLO fund in May, adding $79 million par value of BB-rated paper

US jitters set in ahead of monthly options expiry
A gap has opened up again in the performance of European credit versus US ahead of this month's CDS options expiries, after a shakier trading session in New York yesterday

Värde targets $1 billion for inaugural dedicated credit dislocation fund
Värde is seeking to raise $1 billion for its dislocation and distressed debt fund, according to an investor presentation seen by Creditflux. The firm is targeting a first close this month

Relief rally follows relative value trading on US/Europe credit and tranches
Credit markets look set to end the week on a cautious retracement tighter, after several sessions of heavy reminders the coronavirus crisis is far from over and that sector/geographical selection remains important

Sculptor CEO Shafir to step down with CIO taking dual role
Sculptor Capital Management has announced that its chief investment officer will take also take on the role of chief executive officer, effective 1 April 2021

LP round up: Pimco gets the Disco started as distressed managers win allocations
Insitutional investors allocated just over $1 billion to credit funds last week, according to board documents seen by Creditflux, with special situation funds from Farallon, Pimco and SSG taking the bulk of these commitments

Intelsat CDS set for deemed auction today at 100% recovery
Intelsat Investments CDS will be settled today at 100% recovery through a deemed auction, the Determinations Committee has said

Fund performance: CLO tranches move up
April returns managed a partial bounce back after a tumultuous March. 82% of funds listed in the Creditflux database made positive returns, showing at least small signs of recovery after 90% of all funds listed posted negative returns in March

Listed CLO fund rebounds in April with 5.7% gain
US and European CLO equity tranches brought in gains of 10% in April for the fund, US CLO debt 12.1%, ABS 0.6% and bank balance sheet transactions 0.3%

KKR takes covid-19 hit on flagship credit funds and lev fin
KKR took a 16% hit to returns on its alternative credit flagship funds amid the first quarter coronavirus downturn and a 13% loss on leveraged credit, taking these into negative territory for the last 12 months. The firm's private equity portfolio also slumped by 12%

Apollo earmarks $20 billion for dislocation fundraising over 12 months
Apollo's returns for corporate credit, structured credit and direct origination in the first quarter were down 8.3%, 14.7% and 4.8%, respectively, but the firm is looking to launch various credit strategies, including capital solutions, dislocation strategies and distressed strategies, that it “expects to accumulate $20 billion over the next year”

KKR deploys 10% of $2 billion coronavirus dislocation credit fund
KKR Credit has plans to launch a $2 billion dislocated corporate and asset backed credit fund to take advantage of coronavirus-induced volatility. And the New York-based manager has wasted no time swooping on opportunities after deploying $212 million by 9 April

Credit Rendezvous: recovery begins, but is it U, V or even W?
Investing in credit is not as easy as ABC. The coronavirus crisis has crushed valuations and although most assets will eventually pull to par, no one is sure how the recovery will pan out

Fair Oaks issues shares to buy more CLO debt after 50% equity tranche hit
Fair Oaks Capital has issued new shares on its CLO fund at a premium to its net asset value to capitalise on CLO debt, which it says “offers attractive risk-adjusted returns over the medium term”

Global direct lending fundraising plummets in Q1
Global direct lending fundraising figures plummeted in the first quarter as coronavirus-related volatility kicked in. Managers raised just $9.4 billion raised across 11 funds compared to $18.6 billion across 15 in Q1 2019, according to Creditflux's fund database

US credit leads surge tighter on Fed package to close gap with Europe
What was already a much more positive week for credit has ended with a massive jump-start, as the US Federal Reserve unveiled a $2.3 trillion relief package targeting small businesses and municipalities but with additional support for bigger companies, including 'fallen angel' household names

Bardin Hill pulls in $300 million for first close of opportunistic credit fund
Bardin Hill has held a first close on an opportunistic credit fund at around $300 million, according to sources familiar with the matter

Fair Oaks suspends dividends from listed CLO fund citing covid-19 uncertainty
Fair Oaks Capital has suspended dividends on its listed CLO fund “in light of the ongoing uncertainty in economies and markets caused by covid-19 pandemic”, according to an update to investors in the $315 million fund