Beechbrook hires head of DACH to lead new Frankfurt office
Beechbrook Capital, a lower mid-market direct lender, has hired an investment director for the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) from German bank Mainzer Volksbank to lead a new office

Medley BDC loses compliance with NYSE as two directors depart
The Medley marathon continues after two "independent" directors offered their resignations. The pair were named in a lawsuit last month with activist shareholders FrontFour 

Creditflux and Debtwire unveil European Direct Lending Perspectives
Creditflux and its Acuris stablemate Debtwire have joined forces to produce European Direct Lending Perspectives in a report that sheds light on the biggest trends from 2018.

Värde partners with Guber on €734 million NPL deal
Värde Partners along with Guber Banca have led a group of investors to make a joint acquisition of a €734 non-performing loan portfolio originated by 22 mutual, rural, and cooperative banks spread throughout Italy  

Alcentra's co-head of US direct lending switches focus to Europe - Debtwire report
Alcentra has appointed Peter Glaser as co-head of European direct lending, according to Creditflux’s sister publication Debtwire

Los Angeles pension to shortlist managers for private credit mandate
Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS) is set to short-listed six firms as semi-finalists as part of a $670 million private credit mandate.  

Owl Rock opens Silicon Valley office focused on technology origination
The $12 billion direct lender anticipates the office will better serve financial sponsors operating in the technology sector

Ares and GSO carry unitranches over €1 billion mark
Flush with cash, European direct lending managers have finally passed the milestone one billion unitranche mark this quarter

Former KKR pair resurface with new direct lending business
KKR's former global co-head of mezzanine and European head of private credit has reunited with his former colleague to launch a London-based direct lending business

Kartesia fills vacancy in DACH with key hire from Bayside
Kartesia has hired Guiseppe Mirante as its head of credit opportunities for DACH, according to an announcement today

Beechbrook completes £128 million first close for UK direct lending fund
The manager's second UK-focused sponsorless fund has gained the attention of British Business Bank 

"It makes no sense in a one-to-one world": Goldman BDC dissolves JV with pension fund
Goldman Sachs BDC (GSBD) has dissolved its joint venture partnership with Regents of the University of California as the Senior Credit Fund “no longer makes sense in a one-to-one world”, according to the business development company's Q4 2018 earnings call.

Private credit delivers strong returns for Finnish pension
Valtion Eläkerahasto (VER) has generated 12.4% from its private credit funds for 2018, according to its latest annual report  

Capitala BDC forms $150 million mid-market JV with Kempner
Capitala Finance Corporation and Kemper subsidiary Trinity Universal Insurance Company have teamed up to launch another direct lending joint venture, following a loan-focused JV in 2015

Illiquid credit boost returns for PensionDanmark
PensionDanmark has generated 5.8% returns from its illiquid credit portfolio for the year 2018, according to its latest annual report published today. But its liquid credit portfolio took a 3.4% hit

Californian pension eyes commitment to THL direct lending fund
RVK, the general investment consultant of the Santa Barbara County Employees’ Retirement System (SBCERS), has recommended the $2.8 billion US pension fund commit up to $25 million to THL Credit Direct Lending Fund IV

Ares grows credit 34% with direct lending boost, but high yield takes rough ride in Q4
Ares Management Corporation reported strong returns for its European direct lending strategies in the fourth quarter of 2018. But the firm's overall revenues slumped and its US loan funds and high yield strategies were hit by the volatile credit market 

Schroders appoints global head of private assets division
Schroders has made a hire for its newly created job of global head of private assets, which includes private equity, infrastructure finance, real estate investments and direct lending  

Tikehau garners €2.1 billion for European direct lending strategy
Tikehau Investment Management has collected €2.1 billion for its fourth private debt strategy - three times larger than its predecessor fund 

Allianz IM puts $200 million into Indian private debt
Allianz Investment Management has committed $200 million into the private debt platform of Edelweiss, an Indian diversified financial services firm.  

BlueBay closes fourth direct lending fund at €6 billion
BlueBay Asset Management has held a final close for its fourth private debt fund with over €6 billion of investable capital

Carlyle performance dips in Q4, but credit teams ride global volatility
Credit fund performance dipped for the Carlyle Group in the fourth quarter, as market volatility and fund outflows put a dent in the industry’s much stronger performance of the previous three quarters

MV and EQ combine for €70 million for private credit fund
EQ Asset Management has raised €70 million for its second private credit fund in partnership with MV Credit, the fund of fund operator has announced

Italian foundation seeks new CIO to oversee pension pot
Rome-based foundation Fondazione Enasarco is searching for a new chief investment officer, following the departure of Robert Rausch  

Performing credit tops distressed credit for Blackstone, but credit AUM declines
The firm is looking to boost its direct lending business to gain $10 billion of available capital over the next couple of years