Morgan Stanley IM completes Assurant CLO platform acquisition
Morgan Stanley Investment Management has completed the transaction to acquire Assurant’s US CLO management fee contracts, according to a notice to investors seen by Creditflux

Natixis's Ostrum and La Banque Postale AM merge to create €415 billion firm
Natixis has agreed to merge its Ostrum fixed income asset management arm with La Banque Postale's insurance-related asset management business

Garrison BDC agrees to merge with Portman Finance
As part of the transaction, Portman will assume Garrison’s on-balance sheet CLO liabilities upon closing 

Pine Brook sells CLO firm WhiteStar
Pine Brook Capital Partners has sold its majority equity stake in CLO specialist WhiteStar Asset Management to Clearlake Capital Group

Mount Logan and Sierra take over management of Resource credit fund
Mount Logan Capital and Sierra Crest Investment Management, an affiliate of BC Partners Advisors, have agreed to take over management of the Resource Credit Income Fund, a US-based $240 million interval fund 

Bridgepoint buys EQT's credit business - report
Bridgepoint is buying the credit business of EQT, according to the Financial Times

Mariner transfers CLO management rights to Orix following MBO
Mariner Investment Group has begun transferring the management rights to its CLOs to its parent company Orix Corporation USA, according to a regulatory notice. The move follows Orix's decision to sell Mariner to its executive board, but retain the leveraged credit business

Morgan Stanley IM takes lead in race for Assurant's CLO business
Morgan Stanley Investment Management has emerged as the front runner for Assurant’s US CLO business

Rapid CLO M&A activity on the horizon as fee deferrals pick up
A flurry of M&A deals could soon sweep the CLO market as management fee deferrals become an increasing pressure point for small CLO managers

Garrison exits CLO management after selling contracts to credit manager
Garrison Investment Group is exiting the broadly syndicated loan-backed CLO management business after selling three management contracts to Anchorage

Goldman Sachs in talks to buy minority stake in Permira
Goldman Sachs is looking to buy a minority stake in private equity firm Permira

PE firms look to go it alone as credit units reach maturity
Private equity firms are starting to weigh up the merits of housing private debt businesses, with TPG Capital the latest to contemplate splitting with its credit business TPG Sixth Street. It follows EQT Capital, which announced a strategic review in January centred on parting ways with its credit unit.

Apollo ups stake in Athene to 35% through stock deal
Apollo Global Management is doubling its stake in Athene Holding to around 35% by exchanging $1.2 billion of common equity and buying $350 million extra of Athene stock

Pretium buys Latigo to boost distressed capabilities
Pretium Partners has bought the investment management business of New York-based Latigo Partners, in a bid to expand the firm’s distressed debt and event-driven credit capabilities. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed

Mid-market lender Comvest sells minority stake to Affiliated Managers

Comvest Partners has sold a minority equity stake to Affiliated Managers Group. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.  

Jupiter in talks to buy Merian for £370 million
Jupiter Fund Management is in talks to acquire Merian Global Investors for £370 million ($482 million), according to a joint statement by the firms

ArrowMark completes purchase of StoneCastle's asset manager
ArrowMark Partners has completed the acquisition of financial debt specialist StoneCastle Asset Management

Past returns: Would-be CLO buyers turn sellers
Five years ago in Creditflux, we reported that the new generation of US 2.0 CLO managers were striving to grow their CLO AUM through manager acquisitions; namely, Benefit Street Partners and Triumph Capital Advisors, the pair having issued their debut CLOs in 2012 and 2014, respectively.

Ares buys seven CLOs from Crestline Denali
Ares Management has bought management contracts for seven Crestline Denali CLOs

TPG in talks to split from credit arm TSSP - media reports
Private equity firm TPG is in talks to split with its credit arm TPG Sixth Street Partners, according to media reports, with TPG considering looking to launch and build out its own internal credit platform

Banco Sabadell joins forces with Amundi
Banco Sabadell and Amundi have announced a long-term strategic partnership, in a bid to boost fund business in Spain  

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

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 

Nuveen merges junior capital arm with Churchill to create $21 billion private markets platform
Nuveen, the asset management arm of TIAA, has combined its junior capital group with its mid-market private credit subsidiary Churchill Asset Management, in a move that will create a $21 billion private markets group

US insurer Aflac purchases minority stake in direct lender Varagon
Varagon Capital Partners has sold a non-controlling, minority stake of the firm to Aflac Global Investments, the asset management division of US insurance company Aflac Incorporated