News in brief
Top stories on creditflux.com: including early summer visits to Clearlake and Nearwater

The right moment to take a chance
Stephen Ketchum founded Sound Point during the global financial crisis with seed funding of USD 35m. He moved into CLOs in 2012. Today, the firm has many arms and AUM of USD 46bn

Gearing up private credit CLOs in Europe
Hybrid deals are the latest attempt to make private credit CLOs work in Europe. They aim to combine private credit and leveraged loans to create a vehicle that delivers yield and liquidity

Banks are piling into the CLO market – BSP
Despite negative headlines around the alternative credit space, banks are still supportive of private debt and the CLO market behind closed doors, according to Benefit Street Partners

European private credit CLO market sparks back to life
ANALYSIS: After a brisk start, the European private credit CLO market has stalled somewhat over the past year, but a new issue in the space and the expectation of incoming hybrid issues has breathed new life into the sector

Golub enters European CLO market with multi-currency private credit print

The world’s largest mid-market CLO issuer by AUM has become the third manager to issue a European private credit CLO, after Barings and Ares

First Eagle taps AlbaCore alum for alternative credit product sales
Edward Berry joins as a managing director in London and will help distribute the firm’s alternative credit products, including those under the Napier Park brand

European credit spreads remain resilient — BlackRock
Healthy fundamentals and low default risk means that European credit spreads are showing resilience, at least for now, according to BlackRock’s latest fixed-income outlook

Golub shakes up leadership with co-CEOs, co-Presidents appointments
The alternative credit manager will have three co-presidents after promoting Spyro Alexopoulos and hiring two new executives

Mapping the future together
Credit market players are getting on with business, looking through the conflict in the Persian Gulf, and dealing with the resultant rise in inflation, all while hurriedly adapting to AI, which many are labelling the greatest transformative technology in our lifetimes

Credit issuance pipeline continues to build despite temporary pause—KBRA
Issuance will be ready to resume once the market stabilises, according to Gordon Kerr, European macro strategist at KBRA

Lipton raises EUR 50m equity and EUR 160m secured loan from CVC

Guggenheim’s Zable warns on rapid pace of AI disruption
EXCLUSIVE: Most managers are not prepared for the pace of change in the software loan space, Guggenheim CLO chief Rob Zable said at the Creditflux CLO Symposium

CLO community turns out in force for 18th annual Creditflux Symposium and Awards
EXCLUSIVE: Award winners celebrated, while the stars of the CLO industry came out in force to share predictions, tips and deal making opportunities

Cautious optimism prevails at second day of Creditflux CLO Symposium
EXCLUSIVE: Hundreds of delegates gathered at the Chancery Rosewood in London to talk software, shipping, and the shifting dynamics in the global CLO market

Iran War to increase corporate default rates globally — IACPM Survey
Though the credit market is absorbing new leveraged loan issuance amid geopolitical uncertainty, credit managers expect the war to drive a rise in defaults

Hybrid BSL and private credit CLOs coming to Europe – KBRA
EXCLUSIVE: KBRA is in discussions with managers and arrangers about bringing hybrid BSL/PC CLOs to the European market to improve diversification for investors

Private credit still deploying despite increasing risks – head of credit at CVC
PODCAST: Andrew Davies, head of credit at CVC Capital Partners, says the present uncertainty offered opportunities to reconsider the pricing of transactions, and the ability to structure those deals more conservatively

New York Life Investment Management and Candriam increase Kartesia stake to 80%
The two firms previously held 33% of the ownership of the private debt company, which is expected to enter the European CLO market soon

Golub lines up private credit CLO for European market debut
The US asset manager is set to price Golub Capital Partners Euro CLO 89(M) as its first CLO issue on the continent; it comes as the firm is simultaneously ramping up a BSL CLO platform in the region

Private credit CLOs gather steam in Europe as Ares prices its first euro/sterling deal
The transaction follows the pioneering euro/sterling transaction from Barings last October, which also priced via BNP Paribas, and is the second private credit CLO for Ares in Europe

European BSL market upped risk to win deals in 2025 – White & Case
The BSL market issued a higher percentage of loans rated below BB against a backdrop of patchy M&A flow

Moody’s prepares to enter European private credit CLO rating space
EXCLUSIVE: Moody’s is in discussions about rating private credit CLOs in Europe for the first time, as the market continues to grow

Private credit investors chase higher risk-return—Campbell Lutyens
A new survey shows investors are seeking higher returning strategies amid expectations of lower rates, while also turning away from the dominant North American market

Multi-currency private credit CLOs will become the status quo in Europe - S&P

The multi-currency approach to European private credit CLOs will become the status quo this year, with new entrants helping to drive this growth, S&P has predicted