Direct lenders agree to PIK as borrowers feel tariff pressure
Borrowers are facing stress and asking direct lenders for the option to use payments-in-kind instead of cash for interest payments, leading to debate over whether PIK use aids recovery or simply obscures financial stress

Connecticut, San Francisco among funds making new private credit moves – Public Pensions, Private Pursuits
EXCLUSIVE: Connecticut plans commitment to Anchorage Capital distressed credit funds; San Francisco, North Dakota, and Dallas funds disclose recent commitments

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  

Banner Ridge holds first close for special situations fund that’s targeting 750m
EXCLUSIVE: The firm is fundraising for its third fund in the series that is set to have a final close early next year

Ares alum launches opportunistic credit firm backed by Millennium
The new firm will focus on opportunistic credit across public and private markets.

Centerbridge launches new distressed debt fund targeting around USD 4bn
EXCLUSIVE: The Washington State Investment Board looks to come back as an investor in Centerbridge’s fifth special situation funds that’s looking to raise USD 4bn 

Oaktree lowered its distressed debt fundraise to USD 16bn
The market and investment environment for distressed debt shifted, and investors asked whether the original target was too big.

Oaktree Closes on USD 16bn for distressed debt strategy
Oaktree Opportunities Fund XII just edges out its predecessor fund, which closed in 2021 with USD 15.9bn in commitments  

Francisco Partners closes USD 3.3bn opportunistic credit
Francisco Partners has raised an opportunistic credit fund that exceeded its 2.3bn target

Bankruptcy 2.0 changes everything
CLO managers have been forced to take on restructuring experts and add new safeguards to loan docs. But with seniority of position upended, those moves may still not protect them

LPs monitor private credit managers as PIK use rises
As the use of payment-in-kind in direct lending increases, LPs are worried that the tool is being co-opted by the wrong strategies and offered to low-quality borrowers

Distress caused by LMEs triggers headache for recovery calculators
The growth of LMEs are triggering questions about how the US leveraged loan and CLO markets should record the outcomes of restructurings with multiple outcomes

Franchise Group enters Chapter 11 with USD 750m DIP, RSA with first lien lenders
Franchise Group, a name held by 197 US BSL CLOs, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the weekend

LME threat pushes creditors to join or die ad hoc groups, co-ops
Creditors looking to survive LMEs relatively unscathed increasingly have two options: join the majority ad-hoc group or hope debtholders organize under an inclusive cooperation agreement

Competition for deals and rising rates encourage greater use of PIK clauses
Despite improving conditions in credit, the number of private credit deals paying payment-in-kind (PIK) interest is staying at high levels — but the drivers are changing

Special situations funds shift from distressed debt to flexible, all-weather capital strategies
As struggling companies turn to liability management techniques to gain the upper hand against lenders, a new bankruptcy-lite environment is forcing funds to play across the capital stack 

Don’t panic — but Pluralsight could point the way to LMEs in private credit
Although LMEs have become a fact of life for broadly syndicated lenders, the private market seemed safe — at least until Pluralsight showed up

European direct lending firms raise record funds in third quarter
European direct lending fundraising jumped up a notch last month, as year-to-date figures almost doubled in a few final closes

Monarch raises USD 4.7bn for 6th credit opportunity fund
Monarch Capital Partners VI follows a “distress for control” strategy with a focus on corporate credit in North America and Europe

Defaults hit 5% YTD for US private debt-backed companies according to Fitch
The monthly default rate for North American private credit-backed companies hit 5% in August, driven by PIKs and interest deferrals

CLO managers deploy big guns in battle to get on ad hoc committees
As lender-on-lender violence increases, CLO managers are being forced to dedicate staff time to protecting their interests when a loan looks to be troubled

Direct lenders debate new protections to avoid being Pluralsight-ed
Direct lenders are starting to ask for “Pluralsight Protection” when negotiating new deals to head off a repeat of the standoff this summer

Vector launches special situations private credit fund
A San Francisco-based private equity firm has launched a new private credit special situations fund, and is aiming to raise USD 300m

iHeart secured group advisors in confidential talks with company
iHeartMedia, still an important name in the US CLO market, is back in the news, potentially impacting 482 different CLOs

Franchise Group piles on the pain for CLO managers
Retail conglomerate Franchise Group is the latest name to cause a headache for CLO managers, with a downgrade to triple C and loans trading in the 50s