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

CVC raises USD 700m for CLO equity fund, plans new products
The European private credit manager also expects to hold a final close for its European Direct Lending Fund IV in late 3Q

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

L&G discontinues GP stakes programme as head of strategy departs
Current GP stakes investments remain 'strategically significant'; Hannah Gore-Randall led investments into Pemberton, NTR, ImpactA
   

BNP Paribas taps alts head for combined BNP, AXA IM group
Isabelle Scemama will oversee more than EUR 300bn in assets as the two groups merge

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

Barings moves toward second Euro private credit CLO as Blackstone, Apollo mull initial deals
EXCLUSIVE: The firm that cracked the European private credit CLO market open last year is working on its second such deal, while Blackstone and Apollo eye a market entry

Ares launches direct lending fund for European wealth investors
The firm’s first ELTIF product will give individual investors access to its existing European direct lending strategy

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  

Europe sees first reinvesting private credit CLO as Ares prices rare sterling deal
The second private credit CLO in Europe is comprised of over 50 middle-market companies based in the UK, primarily operating in defensive industries

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

Pemberton raises EUR 6.1bn for senior direct lending funds
The asset manager held a final close for Mid-Market Debt Fund IV and Senior Loan Fund II

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

M&G expands direct lending origination team with new hire in the Netherlands
M&G Investments is expanding its direct lending team with the appointment of Gijs Boumans in a newly created role, based in Amsterdam

Bank-asset manager partnerships reach European shores
EXCLUSIVE: the recent announcement from Arini and Lazard shows how new entrants into the direct lending market might copy the US model of leaning on bank partners

Pemberton appoints head of European GP, NAV financing origination
Jürgen Breuer previously helped the manager build out its DACH direct lending effort

Scottish Widows plans private markets push through LTAF launch
EXCLUSIVE: the pension fund plans to invest in both private credit and private eqity with separate managers for each  

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.