California pension approves $20 million for open-ended private debt fund
The commitment comes two months after Santa Barbara County Employees’ Retirement System mandated $25 million to a THL Credit 

Maryland pension carves out private debt bucket
The Baltimore pension fund has also mandated a total of $25 million to one direct lending fund and one distressed debt fund 

Crescent targets $1 billion for US unitranche fund
Crescent Capital has held a first close for its Crescent Private Credit Partners Unitranche Fund

Northleaf raises over $500 million for open-ended private credit fund
Structured as an evergreen fund, Northleaf states that the strategy will “enhance liquidity options compared to traditional private credit fund structures”

Texas pension fund looks to top up credit portfolio
Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) has decided to increase by 3% its target allocation to strategic credit  

Northleaf appoints private credit officials in Chicago, London and Toronto
Northleaf Capital Partners has expanded its private credit team with three hires - including an ex-Barclays head of international corporate credit

Direct lending challenges in 2019: competition, lack of quality assets and high transaction multiples
Results from Proskauer Rose's survey show these are not putting off 75% of respondents, who are fundraising for a debt fund

Bespoke gains pull CLO buyers as market tipped to hit $100bn
Synthetic bespoke issuance could catch up with the more visible CLO market this year, say structured credit specialists

Dealers line up to settle Windstream CDS today
Dealers will today hold a credit event auction to settle CDS referencing Windstream Services, with Morgan Stanley added to the list of participating bidders

New manager Resco lands ex-credit head to found advisory board
Resco Asset Management, a London based asset manager set up last year, has appointed the first of an anticipated three advisory board members

Californian pension reveals 2019 private credit plan
Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association is considering committing up to $80 million to private credit funds, following a recommendation of its investment consultant NEPC  

Seven name changes as CDX HY rolls into tighter new series
The CDX HY index rolls today into series 32, with seven constituents changing from series 31 and a tighter portfolio spread expected to result

Industry veteran joins B Riley's new credit unit to manage CDOs
B. Riley Capital Management has established a new credit platform 

Challenge rejected on cheapest-to-deliver bonds for Windstream CDS auction
The Americas Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee has unanimously rejected a challenge by a market participant against allowing some of the cheapest Windstream bonds to be delivered into an auction to settle CDS referencing the company

Brookfield strikes deal to buy 62% stake in Oaktree
Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to buy a 62% stake in Oaktree Capital Management in a move which will lead to the creation of one of the largest asset managers in the business.

Windstream CDS auction delayed by two weeks
An auction to settle CDS referencing Windstream Holdings has been postponed by two weeks, after dealers on the Americas Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee agreed the process needed more time

Owl Rock opens Silicon Valley office focused on technology origination
The $12 billion direct lender anticipates the office will better serve financial sponsors operating in the technology sector

Pimco targets securitisation-friendly assets for $1 billion fund
Pimco is winning US pension fund support for a strategy geared towards purchasing what it describes as private credit assets “that have historically been securitised”

Dealers set Windstream credit event auction date
An auction to settle CDS referencing Windstream Holdings will take place on Monday, 18 March

Marathon proposes alternative to long-running Medley BDC merger dispute
Marathon has joined the race to take on two business development companies managed by Medley

Isda tables plans to rid CDS market of narrowly tailored credit events
After lengthy deliberation, a working group of major firms is today set to publish proposals aimed at ridding the market of ‘narrowly tailored credit events’, whereby borrowers are persuaded to default on debt payments in order to trigger pay-outs for CDS holders

Windstream set for high CDS pay-out as DC picks initial deliverable obligations
Windstream Holdings CDS protection holders look set for a high pay-out, as the cheapest deliverable obligations into the defaulted company’s credit event auction are quoted in the mid-20s

"It makes no sense in a one-to-one world": Goldman BDC dissolves JV with pension fund
Goldman Sachs BDC (GSBD) has dissolved its joint venture partnership with Regents of the University of California as the Senior Credit Fund “no longer makes sense in a one-to-one world”, according to the business development company's Q4 2018 earnings call.

Capitala BDC forms $150 million mid-market JV with Kempner
Capitala Finance Corporation and Kemper subsidiary Trinity Universal Insurance Company have teamed up to launch another direct lending joint venture, following a loan-focused JV in 2015