Marathon ditches distressed strategy to raise USD 2.7bn for opportunistic credit
EXCLUSIVE: The asset manager originally launched the fund with a distressed debt strategy but has since switched the focus to making opportunistic private credit and equity investments  

Oaktree lowered its distressed debt fundraise to USD 16bn
The market and investment environment for distressed debt shifted, and investors asked whether the original target was too big.

European direct lending firms raise record funds in third quarter
European direct lending fundraising jumped up a notch last month, as year-to-date figures almost doubled in a few final closes

BNP Paribas AM raises EUR 90m for private debt fund of funds
A new fund of funds from BNP Paribas AM will target European special situations by investing in 6 to 8 private debt funds 

Connecticut pension allocates USD 300m to Oaktree’s distressed credit fundraising
Connecticut pension system commits to Oaktree latest flagship distressed credit fund

Retail maintains primacy as most distressed sector in Europe with €31 billion of debt restructuring commenced in 1H23
Newly commenced restructurings tracked by Debtwire in Europe during 1H 2023 show 114 mainly large-cap restructurings, compared to 89 tracked in 1H 2022, a 28% increase year-on-year

Fund performance
Good month for CLO funds sees six in top 10 as Axiom sets pace

LP round up: HPS wins $550m mandate as Ares launches third US direct lending fund
US institutional investors allocated nearly $3 billion to credit funds in April. The news comes amid a BlackRock survey in the month which showed significant investor interest in private credit

Fund performance: European CLO funds lead the way
February was a positive month for many funds, as only one quarter failed to reach the black. This builds off a stellar start to the year: 96% of funds reached a positive return in January

Fund performance: Credit funds end difficult 2022 on a positive note
In December 66% of credit funds reached a positive return, following an even better November where 81% of all funds pushed into the black

Beneath the triple C: Life could be better, but it’s just a letter, under the CCC
Many market participants were eagerly looking forward to a break in December after a gruelling year, but the rating agencies were in no mood to oblige. 

Not every CLO can be a winner
The CLO industry has undeniably performed well enough to justify the plaudits it receives. But there will always be some unloved CLO tranches that slip into triple C territory

Beneath the triple C: Stormy October hits CLOs with rising tide of downgrades
After a slight respite in the pace of downgrades over the summer for CLOs, October brought renewed momentum as macro-economic pressures - primarily high interest rate burdens for corporate borrowers and supply side inflation - became the recurring rationale

LP round up: two managers terminated as 20 win $2.5 billion
US institutional investors allocated over $2.5 billion to 20 credit managers in October, according to documents seen by Creditflux. Two credit fund managers however were terminated in the month

Cairn begins "new chapter" as it rebrands to Polus
Cairn Capital has been renamed Polus Capital Management, which brings it together with Bybrook Capital, the credit asset manager it acquired in 2021.  

Fund performance: Wake us up when September ends
After a resurgent August, credit markets hit a rough patch in September, with every Creditflux index posting negative returns, and only 12.9% of funds in our listings showing a positive return.

US and Europe divide honours between HY and IG as market rally extends
A second straight day of improvement is adding to this week’s gathering rally, but while US high yield is outperforming European the reverse is true in investment grade

Fund performance: August provides much-needed relief for CLO funds
.August fund performance 

AnaCap's credit team spins out to form Veld
Veld, Veld, Veld. If it isn't AnaCap's former credit business

Ukraine auction settles CDS below expected recovery
An auction to settle sovereign CDS contracts referencing Ukraine produced a final price slightly below expectations, despite net buying demand for bonds to physically settle contracts

Ukraine auction looks set to avoid Russia-style bond squeeze
An auction to settle sovereign CDS contracts referencing Ukraine looks set to produce a final price much more in line with bond trading levels than the result earlier this month for Russian Federation contracts

Beneath the triple C: US CLOs take a dip in the triple C as Europe watches from the sun lounger
The US CLO market bore the brunt of downgrades to triple C in July and August, with a total of $6.22 billion of paper affected. European CLOs enjoyed a more relaxing summer holiday, with only 1 name representing €33.88 million worth of bonds downgraded to triple C.  

CLOs keep eyes glued to screen as Cineworld previews possible chapter 11
Cineworld, the UK-based cinema giant, has announced that a chapter 11 restructuring is among the options it is considering, in response to recent media speculation about a possible default

Fund performance: Select funds shine in dreary June for credit hedge funds
Credit funds suffered through June, as only 8% of listed funds reached the black. This made June the fourth month in a row in which negative returns increased

Ares plans four credit fund launches amid strong deployment
Ares Management benefitted from strong private credit deployment in the quarted and unveiled plans to raise its sixth European direct lending fund, second flagship closed-end alternative credit fund and third US junior capital direct lending fund