Private rating defaults hit record high – Fitch
The US private credit default rate increased to 5.7% in the trailing 12 months ending 1Q26, while the downgrade-to-upgrade ratio for Fitch’s privately monitored private credit ratings portfolio hit 6.3x in the first quarter, the highest level since the second quarter of 2023

Thoma Bravo poised to hand Medallia keys to lenders by end of May
Thoma Bravo founder says sponsor will not inject new money; No documents signed yet as lenders ready to take keys

Brookfield-backed Primary Wave raises USD 2.2bn for music royalties fund
Brookfield Asset Management, which holds a minority stake in the firm, contributed to the latest fundraising effort, a source familiar told Creditflux

Lazard to acquire Campbell Lutyens in private funds push
The USD 575m acquisition will create a third global division known as “Lazard CL” that will focus on fund placement, advisory on fund secondaries and GP capital advisory

Indiana, New York systems pursue diversification with large opportunistic credit commitments
INPRS commits USD 1.6bn, NYSTRS USD 450m to opportunistic/specialty funds; Ventura County pension plans USD 220m in private credit commitments

Silver Rock Capital Partners corrals USD 4bn for private capital solutions strategy
The firm closed on more than USD 4bn for its latest Tactical Allocation Strategy vintage, which will invest in private corporate and real-asset debt across the credit cycle

Private credit through the public pension lens – Podcast
Pension allocations to private credit remain intact; Private credit portfolios evolve beyond core direct lending  

Investors should stay the course on private credit even amid valuation uncertainties—Mariner
EXCLUSIVE: Institutional investors can generally ride out any market bumpiness, and these internal marks do not necessarily reflect final returns, head of Mariner Institutional Mike Welker said 

Apogem eyes leading role with its largest secondaries fund yet
Fund VII closed on USD 1.43bn in March; predecessor closed on USD 600m in 2022

NAV lending concerns abate, borrowing costs decline – survey
Survey respondents in the Haynes Boones fund financing report said pricing for net-asset-value loans and subscription lines has come down in 2025 compared to 2024 

Blackstone President Jon Gray says firm has navigated outflows comparable to BCRED before
Blackstone saw elevated outflows a few years ago with its semi-liquid real estate product, BREIT, and believes BCRED will prove similarly resilient, President Jon Gray said on the firm’s first-quarter earnings call

Washington, Louisiana systems approve large distressed debt commitments
WSIB approves USD 300m for Monarch's latest distressed debt fund; TRSL allots USD 150m to Centerbridge distressed, mezzanine debt funds

LPs eye jettisoning asset allocation model in pursuit of uncorrelated returns
CalPERS, CalSTRS among recent converts to the total portfolio approach; Adoption requires significant changes in team setup, governance, incentives

Lending to nonbank entities like BDCs will be a growth area—State Street
Additionally, the firm said its investment grade private credit ETF, developed with Apollo, hit USD 800m in assets under management during the quarter

Benefit Street Partners CEO says private credit’s doomsday scenario is overblown
PODCAST: The ‘doomsday scenario’ for software loans represents a complete over-exaggeration, says David Manlowe, CEO of Benefit Street Partners, on the latest episode of Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee

Kayne Anderson Private Credit issues rated feeder
Kayne Anderson has priced a rated feeder fund for its Kayne Senior Credit Fund V, with Wells Fargo arranging the USD 206.425m transaction

Sycamore Tree to hire six more in private credit secondaries build-out
EXCLUSIVE: Co-founder and CIO Trey Parker told Creditflux that the new platform will complement its existing credit business and focus on providing liquidity to the undercapitalised opportunistic space within the credit secondaries market

Mercer zeroes in on AI exposure in GPs’ operations, portfolios and deals
EXCLUSIVE: The firm is ready to deploy its eighth flexible private market fund-of-funds, as the growing capabilities of AI cement themselves as a key factor across private market asset classes

Virginia, Arkansas among systems expanding into alternative credit strategies
Recent Ares funds gain momentum with allocations from VRS, TCDRS; Arkansas Teachers plan multi-strategy credit SMAs with KKR, Brookfield

KKR prorates investor exits from semi-liquid ABF fund
The firm will fulfill around 69% of each shareholder’s exit request to keep the total liquidity offering this quarter to 5% of the fund’s net asset value

CLO manager Sycamore steps into credit secondaries with new hire
The firm tapped a former managing director at Banner Ridge Partners to lead the new credit secondaries platform.

Barings hires former Northleaf MD to expand capital solutions platform
CJ Wei has joined Barings as a managing director for capital solutions and a portfolio manager for specialty asset-based finance

Adams Street raises USD 7.5bn for senior direct lending
The middle market-focused alternatives firm held a close for its Private Credit III fund and is expanding its direct lending platform globally

ICG’s head of US liquid credit says Iran war will cause pain for consumers, housing
PODCAST: Consumer-related aspects of the economy – ranging from housing and travel to apparel and retail – are already “feeling a decent amount of pain”, and the trend is expected to continue, according to ICG's David Saitowitz, speaking on the latest episode of the Credit Exchange podcast with Lisa Lee

Direct lending secondaries are no longer worth paying par – Corbin Capital
EXCLUSIVE: The alternatives firm says it is unwilling to pay 95 cents on the dollar for any private credit secondaries deals right now as the market reprices