Czech mate: Voya IM agrees to buy $5 billion US direct lender
Private markets and alternative capabilities have been a “strategic focus and growth driver” for Voya and the firm says its new direct lending team will “complement our leading fixed income platform and accelerate the expansion of our private and leveraged credit franchise across institutional, insurance and retail channels”

GSAM buys stake in US direct lender
Goldman Sachs Asset Management has taken a stake in $15.1 billion US lower middle-market direct lender 

Ares buys mid-market portfolio from direct lender for $2.4 billion
As of 31 December, the portfolio is backed by 28 private equity sponsors and 46 borrowers, with an average $44 million investment size

Oaktree buys majority stake in 17Capital
Oaktree Capital Management has bought a majority stake in net-asset-value financing specialist 17 Capital

Constellation buys into real estate and mid-market corporate specialist
Constellation Capital has bought a passive, minority equity stake in Post Road Group, according to a joint-announcement. The transaction comes shortly after Post Road raised over $300 million for Post Road Special Opportunity Fund II

Spac pricing hints at Sound Point's growth ambitions in loan market
Sound Point Acquisition Corp has priced a $225 million IPO, signalling that credit asset manager Sound Point Capital Management is looking to expand its platform

Gapstow expects strategic deals as credit manager M&A volume slumps to $120 billion
M&A volume involving credit asset managers dropped last year with total target value assets under management slumping to $120 billion from $149 billion in 2020 (and $254 billion in 2019), according to Gapstow Capital Partners

Natixis IM to sell stake in Canadian asset manager Fiera
Natixis Investment Managers is selling all 10.68 million class A subordinate voting shares it holds in Canada's Fiera Capital

Park Square sells minority stake to Bonaccord
Bonaccord Capital Partners has bought a minority stake in $10 billion private credit shop Park Square Capital

GSO co-founders reunite as Hunter Point buys minority stake in Iron Park
Two of the three GSO Capital Partners co-founders Bennett Goodman and Tripp Smith have been reunited with Goodman’s Hunter Point Capital buying a minority stake in Smith’s Iron Park Capital

CIFC pushes into direct lending with LBC acquisition
CIFC Asset Management has agreed to buy middle market direct lender LBC Credit Partners

Wells Fargo AM becomes Allspring under new ownership
Wells Fargo Asset Management has completed its transformation into Allspring Global Investment 

Bennett Goodman's Hunter Point buys stake in MidOcean
Hunter Point, which was launched by Blackstone Credit’s co-founder Bennett Goodman alongside Avi Kalichstein in 2020, has made its first investment and bought a minority stake in mid-market specialist MidOcean

T Rowe Price to buy Oak Hill for up to $4.2 billion
Oak Hill is set to become T Rowe Price’s private markets platform, led by Oak Hill’s chief executive officer Glenn August

Brevan Howard buys stake in structured credit fund manager led by former employee
1543 Capital and Brevan Howard have strengthened their ties with market sources indicating that Brevan Howard has acquired a minority equity stake in the manager

Franklin Templeton takes on Aviva's US IG credit team
Franklin Templeton has struck a deal to buy Aviva Investors’ $7.5 billion US-based investment grade credit team

Investcorp strikes partnership with distressed mid-market specialist
Marblegate Asset Management and Investcorp say they have formed a strategic partnership where the latter will provide Marblegate with long-term capital to strengthen its investment platform and provide access to to Investcorp's investor network

Santander to acquire Amherst Pierpont for $600 million
Banco Santander says it has struck an agreement to acquire fixed income broker dealer Amherst Pierpont Securities

Birch Grove merges with American Securities' credit business
US private equity firm American Securities has merged its opportunistic credit business, Ascribe Capital, with boutique alternative credit hedge fund Birch Grove Capital

Sound Point confirms buy-out of CVC's US direct lending business
Sound Point Capital Management has bought CVC’s US direct lending business, the pair have confirmed. The deal will add $1 billion of assets to Sound Point’s $25 billion platform and includes nine investment professionals

Sound Point strikes deal to buy CVC's US direct lending business: WSJ
Sound Point Capital Management has agreed to buy CVC’s $1.5 billion US direct lending arm as part of a push into private credit 

Hamilton Lane forms private markets partnership with Russell
Hamilton Lane will provide insight and input to Russell Investments’ private markets team on portfolio construction, along with investing money

Mid-market CLO manager sells minority stake to Aberdeen Standard division
A $10 billion US mid-market private credit firm has sold a passive minority equity stake to Bonaccord Capital Partners

Golub follows Sixth Street by suing Dyal over Owl Rock merger
Dyal Capital’s merger with Owl Rock faces growing opposition with Golub Capital filing a lawsuit

TIG delves into Asian credit following minority investment in Arkkan
New York-based asset manager TIG Advisors has bought a minority equity stake in Hong Kong-based alternative asset manager Arkkan Capital