Florida pension fund backs Atalaya distressed strategy
Florida State Board of Administration (SBA) has committed $100m to Atalaya Special Opportunities Fund VII, as part of the Florida Retirement System’s portfolio.  

AnaCap buys €4 billion Italian SME loan portfolio
AnaCap Financial Partners has made its first transaction of its fourth credit opportunities fund 

Boost for Parker Drilling protection buyers as CDS settles lower than expected
Parker Drilling credit default swaps have settled at a lower value than expected, after physical settlement sell requests drove down the price at auction and increased the windfall for protection buyers

Parker Drilling recovery implied at 45 cents as dealers get set for CDS auction
An auction to settle credit default swaps referencing Parker Drilling will take place today, with bond trading levels of the defaulted company implying a payout to protection buyers of around 45-46 cents on the dollar

Sears CDS settles well above bonds on physical settlement squeeze
Predictions that credit default swaps referencing Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp would recover at a high level have been borne out, with an auction to settle the contracts having returned a value of almost 80 cents on the dollar – nearly 30 points higher than where bonds of the bankrupt US retailer have been quoted

Dealers gear up to settle Sears CDS and rule on Ziggo successor
The long wait to settle the final price of Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp credit default swaps will end today with a credit event auction, while investors could also learn whether there is successor to contracts referencing deregistered Ziggo Bond Finance

Disagreement between Sound Point and former portfolio manager comes to an end
The long-running dispute between portfolio manager Jeff Teach and his former employer Sound Point Capital Management has been brought to an end following a final arbitration award

Sears CDS battle heats up as DC challenged to change auction rules
A high profile battle over Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp credit default swaps has taken a new turn, with one market participant challenging the Americas Determinations Committee to change its rules to avert price manipulation by another market participant in the bankrupt retailer's credit event auction

Sears CDS battle lines set out in market-defining legal fight
Legal sides have set out their arguments in the high-stakes Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp credit event external review, in what an industry group of asset managers claims is a “unique opportunity to provide clarity on one of the most important definitions for the credit default swap product”

GSO co-founder plans new credit business
GSO Capital Partners co-founder Tripp Smith is launching his own credit management firm, according to a report by Bloomberg

Sear-iously? Isda slams ex-CFTC commissioner over CDS "hyperbole"
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association has waded into a gathering furore over Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp credit default swaps

San Francisco pension bolsters private credit portfolio with €60 million commitment
San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System has awarded €60 million to a distressed debt fund 

Sears CDS settlement extends to 2019 as external review teams line up
Holders of Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp credit default swaps will have to wait until at least 7 January to resolve the contracts, with an external review decision on deliverables into the defaulted borrower’s credit event auction slated for 21 December

Sears CDS external review panel named to solve Determinations Committee impasse
The North America Determinations Committee has selected an external review panel to decide whether two Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp debt obligations can be delivered into an auction to settle the US retailer’s credit default swaps, having failed to achieve a strong enough quorum among its own 15 members

Astaldi CDS auction sets 30.875 final price as physical settlement boosts recovery
An auction today to settle credit default swaps referencing Astaldi has determined the final price to be 30.875 cents on the euro, meaning a 69.125 cents pay-out per euro for protection buyers

Blackstone builds on multi-asset approach with fifth fund
The new vehicle will invest directly into Blackstone deals across its alternatives platform

Managers see growth in distressed and direct lending, but structured credit splits opinion
The private credit industry remains on track to grow to $1 trillion assets under management by 2020, according to joint research published by the Alterative Credit Council and law firm Dechert with allocations to distressed and mid-market deals tipped to rise. But structured credit has divided US and European managers

Seven deliverables valid for Sears CDS auction, as seven others split DC panel
There will be seven obligations deliverable into an auction on 14 November to settle credit default swaps referencing Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp, the Americas Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee has decided. But members of the 15-strong DC were split over whether to include another seven potential deliverables that did not make the cut

BNP Paribas' fund of fund platform holds first close on European mid-market strategy
BNP Paribas Asset Management's fund of fund business is targeting €250 million for a strategy which will allocate to "top tier" European mid market debt managers 

Blackstone grows credit assets by 31% over year
The firm achieved strong fundraising in credit, taking credit-related assets under managment to $130.6 billion in the third quarter, a 31% increase year-on-year 

Astaldi credit event question posed as its distress weighs on iTraxx Crossover
Astaldi, a constituent of iTraxx Crossover, has been referred to ISDA-hosted Credit Determinations Committees as a possible bankruptcy credit event – less than two weeks after the index rolled into a new series

Distressed debt outperforms as Texas pension fund's credit strategies gain 11.2%
Texas County and District Retirement System (TCDRS), the $30 billion pension fund, generated 11.2% annualised returns from its credit portfolio for the year ending 30 June. Distressed debt was a major positive, but IG credit lost value

US pension fund's credit performance stumbles with 2.3% 12-month return
Maryland State and Retirement & Pension System, the $51.9 billion public pension fund, generated 2.31% returns from its credit portfolio for the fiscal year to June 30, down from 10% the year before

Oaktree raises new special situations fund while CIO warns of direct lending risk
Oaktree Capital Management has released its second quarter 2018 results in which the Los Angeles-based firm reported $2.4 billion of new capital commitments in the quarter

65% of distressed managers plan new funds over the next year, survey finds
Distressed debt is proving to be a popular strategy for managers, with 65% intending to launch a distressed strategy in the next 12 months, according to a report by Creditflux’s sister publication Debtwire and law firm Ropes & Gray.