EIB buys mezzanine tranche in Commerzbank SRT
Commerzbank has launched a €1.5 billion significant risk transfer with the European Investment Bank (EIB) announcing that it has invested in the mezzanine tranche of the securitisation

Hadrian Wall tumbles as board calls for wind down of direct lending fund
Hadrian’s Wall Secured Investments' board of directors has decided that a wind down of the fund with cash returned to shareholders would be in the best interest of shareholders, according to a company update

European unitranche deal flow increased 11% last year, finds GCA
European direct lending unitranche deals completed in 2019 increased by 11%, according to GCA Altum's Q4 2019 MidCap Monitor, marking a record year for the industry 

Pimco plans to outperform come rain or shine with $4.5bn all-weather fund
Pimco has become the latest manager to fashion a flexible, all weather credit fund that invests across public and private markets, geographies and capital structures. The Newport Beach-based manager is hoping to raise $3 billion for the strategy. With half a turn of leverage, it could have up to $4.5 billion to deploy.

Amundi joins forces with French bank to launch midcap loan fund
Amundi has partnered with French bank LCL to launch a mid-cap direct lending fund - and the fund has collected €130 million on its first close, just over half its target size 

EQT undertakes strategic review of credit business
EQT has announced a review of its credit business with the firm appointing JP Morgan to evaluate its 'strategic options', according to the firm’s Q4 2019 report

Alvarez & Marsal establishes European practice with senior hire
Alvarez & Marsal has established a Europe debt advisory practice and appointed ex-Marlborough Partners official Tim Metzgen to spearhead the unit in London

Park Square promotes four after departure of direct lending head
Park Square has announced four promotions to partner, which comes a couple of months after its head of direct lending Howard Sharp parted ways with the firm, as previously reported by Debtwire

Apollo fills gap in European direct lending team with senior hire from Alcentra
Apollo Global Management has filled a void in its European direct lending team by hiring Alcentra’s Natalia Tsitoura, according to market sources

BNP Paribas AM hits €345 million on first close of European SME debt fund
BNP Paribas Asset Management has attracted €345 million from 13 investors for its second European debt fund focused on small and medium-sized enterprises, marking the fund’s first close

JP Morgan AM moves CFO to head up private credit
The chief financial officer of JP Morgan Asset Management has switched to a newly created role as head of private credit

Direct lending strategies grow by 32% in Luxembourg, report finds
Direct lending strategies domiciled in Luxembourg have almost doubled to comprise 32% of the private loan market, up from 18% last year, according to a joint private debt fund survey conducted by KPMG and Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry

CIC collects €530 million for direct lending fund
CIC Private Debt has collected €530 million on its third senior debt fund, surpassing its original €450 million target size

Azimut hires ex-Dyal official as it aims to buy minority equity in asset managers
Azimut will initially focus on acquiring minority stakes in alternative asset managers with under $3 billion AUM – including private credit, private equity, infrastructure and real estate firms

In private credit, we look to stay in senior structures with control

Tikehau builds private debt secondary platform with senior hire
Tikehau Capital has bolstered its private debt capabilities with the launch of a new secondaries platform

Newly formed Italian asset manager launches direct lending fund
Equita Capital is seeking a first close of its second private debt fund by February 2020, Creditflux has learnt. The fund is understood to have an ESG focus  

Veteran Ulmer targets array of private credit for new firm
Andrew Ulmer, who led the structured finance expansion at Brevan Howard, has resurfaced with his own asset management company, 1543 Capital, according to documents seen by Creditflux.

Schelcher nears €300 million first close of European direct lending fund
The strategy - mainly focused on France - has recieved a €40 million commitment from the European Investment Fund

Italian bank Equita launches €1 billion asset management arm
The firm has plans to launch its second private debt fund Equita Private Debt Fund II at the end of the year 

Europe and US diverge on covenant lite structures
Direct lending is syphoning away traditional loan supply

Pemberton pulls in €3.2 billion for European direct lending fund
Pemberton has closed its second European direct lending fund at €3.5 billion, exceeding its original €2.5 billion target size, and has deployed 70% of the capital

Investors are very focused on ESG: it’s driving them and us, and rightly so
My career in credit began just over 20 years ago, working in KPMG’s restructuring team and advising banks on their troubled loans. It was a pretty steep learning curve as every company was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. But I learned that controlling cash flow is vital and how to prioritise what’s most important about a company. I still use those same skills every day.

Past Returns: German direct lending’s overhaul
In Creditflux five years ago we reported on German fund managers campaigning against regulations which dictated that funds require a banking licence to act as direct lenders. In 2016 they got their way as the German Banking Act stipulated that the banking licence requirement would not be imposed if a direct lender was authorised under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive.

London pension outlines private debt commitments
Barnet Pension Fund has earmarked £30 million for commitments to Partners Group Multi Asset Credit 2019