The biggest credit stories in 2017
CLO ramp-up risk, new risk retention proposals and new CLO joint ventures were in the headlines last year. Here, Creditflux reveals the most read stories of 2017

Japanese internet and telco giant SoftBank completes Fortress acquisition
Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp has completed the previously announced acquisition of Fortress Investment Group for $3.3 billion in cash

Blackstone taps Australia's mortgage loan market with new acquisition
New York-based Blackstone is tapping into Australia’s lucrative mortgage loan market by acquiring an 80% stake in direct lending company La Trobe Financial

Infrastructure manager raises $6.5 billion in equity and debt mandates
Global infrastructure manager IFM Investors raised $6.5 billion in infrastructure equity and debt globally between 1 July 2016 and 30 September 2017

US manager becomes latest to receive China private fund management license
US manager becomes the latest foreign firm to recieve an approval for the private fund management (PFM) license in China. 

Japanese bank to buy minority stake in CLO boutique GreensLedge
A Japanese bank is taking its relationship with GreensLedge to the next level by buying a 20% stake in the New York-based firm

Volatility management boosts Double Haven's Asian credit fund
Hong Kong's Double Haven has outperformed the US high yield market and exhibited less volatility this year through its Asian bond fund

Carlyle's co-founders step down as new leadership team is unveiled
The group names two Co-CEOs and a Co-CIO – but claims its three co-founders will continue to be actively engaged at Carlyle

Marathon fund doubles assets in six months
Marathon's Emerging Markets Bond Fund substantially increased its assets between March and September – more than doubling its AUM, according to estimated figures

New York-based manager's distressed debt fund raised $4.7 billion in Q3
Blackstone's credit arm, GSO Capital Partners, raised $4.7 billion for its distressed flagship fund during third quarter 2017

New CarVal distressed credit fund reaches $2.36 billion
Alternatives manager CarVal Investors has raised $2.36 billion for its new vehicle CVI Credit Value Fund IV, according to regulatory filings

Principal and Finisterre team up to launch emerging market Ucits fund
Multi-boutique asset management firm Principal Global Investors has launched an unconstrained emerging markets fixed income Ucits that will be managed by its subsidiary, Finisterre Capital

KKR's private credit fund fund targets Hong Kong and now South Korea
KKR has raised $301.1 million for its KKR Private Credit Opportunities Partners II (EEA) LP fund, which appears to be targeting Asia-based investors

US managers win South Korean investment
Ares, Audax and KKR are among the cluster of fund managers that have put their hearts and minds into marketing credit funds in Seoul – with great success

Private credit investors will be stuck with their positions
Brandywine’s Gary Herbert takes our credit quiz

Asian airline operator approves $30 million ticket for new CarVal credit fund
US credit strategies continue to attract capital from Asian investors with CarVal Investors the latest asset manager to distribute a fund in the continent

Goldman Sachs and KKR private credit funds win Korean investors
Korea Post has decided to commit $200 million to a new mezzanine debt fund from Goldman Sachs and $100 million to KKR Credit’s global mezzanine fund, according to local media reports

Institutional investors - does Europe still provide the best opportunities in credit?
Cash or synthetics, CLOs versus CMBS, senior or junior debt? Institutional investors have a variety of ways to approach credit investing and Creditflux's biannual survey of credit allocators aims to determine which market they view as offering compelling returns

US pension fund agrees $200 million investment in new GSO distressed fund
GSO Capital Partners has got off to a strong start as it markets a new distressed debt fund. There are signs that the multi-billion offering is being sold in South Korea

Japanese bank expands mid-market CLO business with arranger credit
A Japanese bank has earned a credit as co-placement agent on a mid-market CLO reset. The bank is known to have plans to launch a CLO arranging platform

Barings goes global with new mid-market strategy after rapid fund raise
Barings says that it has raised $1.3 billion for a new middle-market credit fund after less than six months on the marketing trail

Think outside the box
While the US market credit is the most liquid and the UK is considered the home of European direct lending, there are opportunities further a?eld

Japanese bank rides refinancing wave with mid-market CLO push
A key CLO investor is buying middle-market CLO paper for the first time after purchasing $1.2 billion of senior notes in a recent deal

Credit manager bucks the trend by shifting into private equity
A host of private equity firms are planning direct lending funds, but one direct lender is moving in the opposite direction