Ares emerges as favourite to take over troubled direct lending fund
Following Oaktree’s wind-down request, the board of the Ranger Direct Lending Fund has chosen Ares as replacement manager - moves which could see the fund change its focus from peer-to-peer loan investments to asset-backed loans

New Hampshire pension agrees $50 million investment in direct lending
New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS) has committed $50 million to a Chicago-based direct lender

New York pension commits €200 million to ICG across two mid market funds
ICG has won a €200 million golden ticket for two of its mid market funds: ICG North American Private Debt Fund II and ICG Europe Fund VII

Canadian pension fund appoints head of credit
Toronto-headquartered Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has appointed John Graham as head of credit investments, effective 1 June 2018

Credit-oriented PE firm opens Texas office to aid capital deployment
Credit-oriented private equity firm Orion Energy has opened a new office in Houston in a bid to set up a local presence and deploy capital from its recent successful fund close

New York pension fund allocates $400 million to two private debt funds
New York State Common Retirement Fund has awarded $400 million to two private debt managers: GSO and Vista Equity Partners, Creditflux has learned

BlackRock expands US private debt capabilities with TCP acquisition
BlackRock has agreed to acquire $9 billion asset manager Tennenbaum Capital Partners

Mayer Brown adds private credit partner in Chicago
Jaime Gatenio joins global law firm as banking and finance partner in its global private credit group

Freshfields CLO lawyer hired by rival firm in New York
Ryan Suda, who has joined Mayer Brown as a partner, advises financial institutions, asset managers, private equity funds and hedge funds in structured finance transactions and other complex financings

Missouri pension fund selects Brightwood and Monroe for private debt mandate
The St Louis Public School Retirement System has committed $22 million to private debt, according to board documents seen by Creditflux

Ivy Hill prices first billion-dollar mid market CLO of 2018
The Los Angeles-based firm issued its first new middle-market CLO in almost 12 months on Friday

Mid market CLO round-up: Antares leads the way as triple As price at 125bp
Although US mid-market CLOs had a slow start to the year, the last two weeks have seen heightened activity in this sector with established players such as Antares Capital, Cerberus Capital Management, Fortress Investments and Midcap Financial pricing new CLOs

BlackRock raising $2.5 billion for direct lending fund: report
BlackRock is seeking to raise $2.5 billion for a private credit fund – and has already hit the $1.5 billion mark in sales, according to a Bloomberg report

New Hampshire pension makes $50 million commitment to direct lending
The New Hampshire Retirement System has approved a $50 million commitment to BlueBay’s Direct Lending Fund III (USD unlevered), according to documents seen by Creditflux

Direct lenders pile into "turbocharged" market as fundraising skyrockets: report
Growth in the direct lending market in the 12 months to 31 December was “turbocharged,” growing robustly in the fourth quarter 2017 in particular due to a consistently growing Eurozone economy, according to Deloitte

Wells Fargo prices three CLO transactions in a single day
Wells Fargo priced three CLO transactions on Thursday, totalling $1.47 billion issuance, according to market sources

Sacramento pension fund eyes new private credit allocation
The Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System’s board has approved a new annual investment plan for 2018 that introduces a private credit allocation, Creditflux has learned

Private equity firm hits target size with $170 million for its first credit fund
Technology-focused private equity firm Accel-KKR has raised $170 million – and hit the total offering amount – for its series 1 Credit Partners fund, which appears to be a direct lending strategy

2.0 mid market spreads jump tighter following refi of 2014 Golub CLO
A Chicago-based middle market CLO manager has priced its triple A notes at 95bp following a refi

EnTrustPermal makes senior hire in bid to expand aviation financing capabilities
New York-based EnTrustPermal becomes the latest asset manager to expand its aviation finance capabilities as it hires veteran aviation investor John Morabito 

Sharp decreases mar THL direct lending BDC's latest financial results
THL Credit has reported a decrease in net assets from operations and net investment income in its newly released financial results, but chief executive Christopher Flynn remains "confident" in the underlying value of the direct lending business

BC Partners registers BDC to invest in US middle market companies
Pan European buy-out investor BC Partners, Acuris’s parent company, has registered a new BDC under the name of BC Partners Lending Corporation, SEC filings reveal

Credit specialist poaches Goldman Sach's Eric Muller in New York
Credit specialist Oak Hill Advisors has hired New York-based Eric Muller from Goldman Sachs Group, according to a market source

Texas-based credit and real estate manager launches new fund
Hudson Advisors has launched a credit fund, according to regulatory filings seen by Creditflux

Mid market specialist prepares first new issue CLO since September 2016
A manager has teamed up with Natixis to price the second CLO of the year backed by a portfolio of middle-market loans