EQT extends push into Nordic direct lending with Nordea hire
The hire follows increased activity for EQT Credit in the region with three recent direct lending deals announced in the Nordic region 

Spire wins Creditflux Manager of the Year award
Spire Partners was the big winner at Creditflux's Manager Awards last night as the London-based manager scooped the award for the manager of the year. On top of this, the firm picked up awards for Best European CLO Manager and Best European CLO for Aurium CLO II

Prospect's $500 million CLO fund merges with Stira Alcentra global credit fund
Prospect Capital Management’s $500 million closed-end CLO fund has officially merged with a global credit fund managed by Alcentra and Stira

UK pension fund appoints manager for private debt portfolio
Hampshire County Council Pension Fund has appointed JP Morgan Alternative Asset Management as a private debt portfolio manager.

The Last Tranche: awards season is upon us [podcast]
A look at 2018 award offerings and finalist, plus some insight on direct lending and b-wics

Jefferies subsidiary and Stonyrock plan mid-market alternative manager stake acquisitions
The new joint venture will invest in private equity, credit, hedge funds, real estate, venture, and infrastructure firms

Maryland pension carves out private debt bucket
The Baltimore pension fund has also mandated a total of $25 million to one direct lending fund and one distressed debt fund 

Direct lending deal activity in France grows 20% year-on-year
Private debt activity in France continued to grow in 2018, with the number of transactions up 20% from 2017, according to a report published by France Invest (Association of Investors for Growth) and Deloitte

Capzanine appoints Emisys co-founder to lead new Milan office
Following offices in Spain and Germany, the firm has opened a Milan office - and hired three former Emisys Capital officials

Direct lending challenges in 2019: competition, lack of quality assets and high transaction multiples
Results from Proskauer Rose's survey show these are not putting off 75% of respondents, who are fundraising for a debt fund

Danish pension fund eyes niche credit opportunities
PensionDanmark is preparing for more volatility in 2019 by casting its eye towards niche opportunities in the special situations and distressed debt market. The Copenhagen-based pension fund last month merged its alternatives and private debt platforms

US pension backs Vista credit fund
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) has approved a $50 million commitment to Vista Credit Partners Fund III, according to documents from the March board of trustees meeting  

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

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.  

Being the only provider in a deal allows us to be closer to the company
Tikehau's Cécile Mayer-Lévi takes our credit quiz

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 

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  

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

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