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 

Private credit default rate rises sharply, according to new report
The second quarter of 2024 saw a further increase in the default rate for US middle market companies, according to legal firm Proskauer's latest report

Connecticut pension allocates USD 300m to Oaktree’s distressed credit fundraising
Connecticut pension system commits to Oaktree latest flagship distressed credit fund

Credit hedge funds
Credit hedge fund performance

Relative to Airbus, Boeing was long accountants but short engineers
A qualitative approach can help investors spot boards that are too focused on short-term returns

Houlihan Lokey adds new credit MD
Investment bank Houlihan Lokey released news yesterday of a new managing director hired to the firm’s Financial Sponsors Group 

Altice isn’t just a European CLO problem
The latest BofA research estimates that US CLO OC test breaches could jump to as high as 17% if all Altice entiites are downgraded

Akin Gump hires Paul Hastings partner for private credit practice
The New York-based partner will join the growing special situations and private credit practice.

Credit hedge funds
Credit hedge funds

Credit funds at a glance
Credit funds at a glance

Dallas retirement system allocates USD 60m to credit funds
The Dallas Employees' Retirement Fund has allocated USD 60m to three separate credit funds as the Texas-based system grows its allocations to private credit and distressed debt

Proskauer poaches pair of credit partners from Milbank
Proskauer Rose continues to build out its team with the addition of Eric Reimer and Gayle Berne as partners in the global finance practice

CLO portfolios may need check-up as healthcare sector continues to deteriorate
Reimbursement challenges and high labour costs are expected to continue to drive restructuring activity among healthcare companies this year following a busy 2023.