Polus raises EUR 890m for European special situations fund
The latest fund exceeded its original EUR 750m target, a source familiar told Creditflux

Tikehau surpasses target on private credit secondaries fundraise
EXCLUSIVE: The latest fund, which has yet to close, has already racked up more than USD 750m

Corporate Europe kicks on with ECM, M&A plans as US market fears grow
Best year for European corporate equity capital markets and M&A since 2021, but storm clouds forming in US AI valuations and private credit

Mizuho EMEA names former BNP Paribas exec as CIB head
Matthew Ponsonby will become head of Mizuho EMEA’s corporate and investment bank, and president and CEO of Mizuho International on 1 October

Carlyle nabs head of direct lending origination from Golub
EXCLUSIVE: The firm also hired a second managing director focused on originations as it re-staffs its direct lending franchise

Alaska, Pennsylvania among pensions disclosing recent private credit investments
Alaska retirement system reveals over USD 400m in private credit investments and Pennsylvania and Texas pensions make new commitments to European private credit funds, while Maine PERS commits to another new TPG Twin Brook fund

Park Square and Nomura plan private credit partnership
EXCLUSIVE: The two parties are negotiating a partnership in which Nomura’s US investment banking unit would help Park Square source unitranche deals in the US

HIG WhiteHorse corrals USD 5.9bn for US direct lending
The latest fund will be used to originate senior-secured loans for both sponsored and non-sponsored corporate borrowers

Morgan Stanley loses head of direct lending and co-head of North America private credit
EXCLUSIVE: the head of direct lending had also served as co-head of North America Private Credit at Morgan Stanley Investment Management; bank assigns new head  

Blackstone IG private credit reaches USD 115bn off insurer interest
The alternative asset manager is focused on raising capital from this investor segment without becoming an insurer itself.

CalPERS hires Dutch pension alum to head private debt
The new hire fills the empty seat left by Jean Hsu, who retired from the position last year

Default expectations rise as tariff threats to North America deepen – IACPM survey
Credit portfolio managers across the world see tariff-related headwinds for both the US and Canada

US pensions' push into European private credit involves local expertise pursuit, mid-market strategy differentiation
The European credit market is expected to benefit from recent fiscal stimulus announcements and lower primary tariff impact, while mid-sized managers are likely to see growing demand for differentiated strategies

US pensions increasingly eye European private credit amid expanding allocations, diversification pressures
US public pensions have committed at least USD 4.4bn to European private credit strategies since July 2024  

Former Platinum Credit MD joins multi-manager platform Schonfeld
Jordan Stevens previously served as a senior credit deal lead for Platinum Equity’s private credit platform

News in brief
Blackstone plays offense amid volatility

Are unusual deals from Clearlake and JPMorgan signs of things to come?
Deals that would have gone to public markets switched to private credit

Clearlake launches Clearlake Credit to chase private and public credit investments
The new platform will integrate the newly acquired MV Credit and WhiteStar Asset Management

Dechert adds Paul Hastings partner to bolster private credit, CLO biz
Brian Whaley will bring his experience in private credit, securitization and structured products to the global finance group

More volatility, more uncertainty and more tailwind for private credit – KKR’s Dan Pietrzak
PODCAST: The new Trump administration in the US has introduced new uncertainty with its preparedness to employ wide-reaching tariffs, and M&A volumes remain depressed, but KKR’s private credit team is busier than it has been in the past few years. 

Marathon ditches distressed strategy to raise USD 2.7bn for opportunistic credit
EXCLUSIVE: The asset manager originally launched the fund with a distressed debt strategy but has since switched the focus to making opportunistic private credit and equity investments  

GP-led deals to reach 50% of credit secondaries volume in 2025: Jefferies
Private credit secondaries volume will be increasingly driven by GP-led transactions this year, said Jefferies in a report

Global Private Credit AUM to reach USD 3trn by 2028 - Moody’s
Global private credit AUM is poised to hit USD 3trn by 2028, Moody's predicts, with momentum expected to grow over the next three years

Corinthia Global Management secures USD 5bn in capital commitments
Corinthia Global Management has raised about USD 5bn for its first direct-lending fund and expects to fund deals by March at the latest

Mega direct lenders break records despite sluggish fundraising cycle
The new year kicked off with Ares Management showcasing the largest ever fundraise for a European direct lending strategy, suggesting that investors are preferring to pile into the largest private credit managers