Texas pension pumps $300 million into Pimco fund
Texas Municipal Retirement System has earmarked up to $300 million to a credit fund managed by Pimco, according to board documents seen by Creditflux, building on a relationship established through a predecessor fund

Dechert adds restructuring partner in London
Dechert has added a former Shearman & Sterling official as a partner in its global financial restructuring practice

McClatchy bankruptcy adds to slew of US media credit events
The McClatchy Company, a media sector constituent of CDS index CDX HY, has triggered a bankruptcy credit event, the Americas Determinations Committee has ruled

S&P prescribes Akorn with triple-C rating amid possible bankruptcy
Akorn, a pharmaceutical company, has been downgraded to triple-C by S&P, following the announcement that Akorn has agreed plans to sell all its assets to repay debt as part of its standstill agreement extension

Whiting Petroleum CDS gaps wider as it engages debt advisors
Credit event concerns have taken CDX HY constituent Whiting Petroleum to a recent wide print, after the energy exploration firm’s management held talks with advisors to find ways to remedy its capital structure

Angelo Gordon pulls in $1.8 billion for inaugural credit solutions fund
Angelo Gordon has held a $1.8 billion final close on an inaugural credit fund geared towards geared towards distressed debt and special situations, surpassing its initial $1 billion target size

HIG promotes Scotland to co-head of European special situations
HIG Bayside Capital, the distressed and special situation affiliate of HIG Capital, has promoted Andrew Scotland to co-head the firm’s European special situations debt activities

Credit Rendezvous: the outlook in 2020 across a dozen segments of the credit market
Welcome to the Credit Rendezvous, the first instalment of a regular feature published by Creditflux that tracks credit market dynamics in a dozen segments from investment grade, liquid loans, CLOs and CSOs all the way through to distressed debt. We view this as the meeting point for credit specialists across strategies to share their perspectives

McCarthy Denning hires special situations and credit trading partner from Jones Day
Law firm McCarthy Denning has appointed a former Jones Day partner to its banking and financing division in London

Pimco plans to outperform come rain or shine with $4.5bn all-weather fund
Pimco has become the latest manager to fashion a flexible, all weather credit fund that invests across public and private markets, geographies and capital structures. The Newport Beach-based manager is hoping to raise $3 billion for the strategy. With half a turn of leverage, it could have up to $4.5 billion to deploy.

York liquidates credit opportunities fund following redemption requests
York Capital Management has decided to liquidate its 2011 vintage credit opportunities fund following what it termed 'significant redemption requests'

Private credit funds could find better buying opportunities this year, says NEPC
Institutional investors looking to allocate to private credit in 2020 should focus on distressed debt, opportunistic credit and niche lending, according to investment consultant NEPC, with 2019 vintage funds potentially seeing “better buying opportunities” despite valuations being at cyclical highs

Carlyle appoints regional head of credit opps fund
Carlyle Group has hired a managing director to serve as North American head of its credit opps fund

Credit event protocol goes into force with 60 extra sign-ups
The International Swaps & Derivatives Association is going live today with a protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events from the CDS market, having signed up 1,358 entities

Ares' new Asian credit affiliate wins $400 million from New York pension
New York State Common Retirement Fund has committed $400 million to distressed and special situations investments in the Asia-Pacific region  

EQT undertakes strategic review of credit business
EQT has announced a review of its credit business with the firm appointing JP Morgan to evaluate its 'strategic options', according to the firm’s Q4 2019 report

Bayside hires distressed specialist to work across London and Hamburg
Bayside Capital has hired distressed debt specialist Florian Kawohl as managing director

Ares buys majority stake in Asian credit manager SSG
Ares has bought a majority, controlling interest in SSG Capital Management, an Asian alternative asset manager focused on private credit and special situations 

Alvarez & Marsal establishes European practice with senior hire
Alvarez & Marsal has established a Europe debt advisory practice and appointed ex-Marlborough Partners official Tim Metzgen to spearhead the unit in London

BC Partners seeks $1 billion close for special opportunities fund
BC Partners Advisors is targeting a $1 billion close for its recently launched special opportunities fund, according to documents seen by Creditflux.  

Calpers eyes exposure to private debt
California Public Employees Retirement System is looking to introduce private debt to its portfolio, according to documents seen by Creditflux  

Portfolio Advisors hits first close as it targets $1.5 billion for secondaries fund
Private markets specialist Portfolio Advisors has completed a first close on its latest secondaries fund at the end of December 2019, having raised between $600m to $700m, a source told Creditflux  

Sound Point creates its first fund geared exclusively to direct lending
Sound Point, which has experience of investing in middle market loans through various funds, has launched its first dedicated speciality lending fund 

Private debt takes centre stage as Arizona looks to bolster credit allocation to 25%
Arizona State Retirement System remains bullish on credit with the $41.9 billion institution looking to bolster its entire credit allocations to almost a quarter of the fund - and private debt will take centre stage in the Arizona pension’s growth plans

US pension backs two private debt managers, but retreats from syndicated loans
San Antonio Fire & Police Pension Fund ended 2019 bullish on private debt but shying away from syndicated loans