European Investment Fund backs German digital direct lender
German digital direct lender Creditshelf has held a €62 million first close on its inaugural fund offering, Creditshelf Loan Fund, following a €30 million commitment from the European Investment Fund 

Liquidity is king. A company with a sound long-term value proposition may not last the next few weeks
For borrowers — and credit providers seeing revolvers drawn down — liquidity is the greatest concern

Direct lenders turn on liquidity taps as major Q2 test awaits
European direct lenders have been on hand to support their portfolio companies with liquidity over the past two months, sources say. These moves come despite uncertainty over the full impact the coronavirus pandemic will have on businesses in the second quarter

Metropolitan launches fund and finds PE sponsors 'more amenable to non-sponsored terms'
Metropolitan Partners has closed an onshore direct lending fund at $240 million. It focuses on non-sponsored companies and has not made an investment in a sponsored deal for three years. But the firm sees an increasing number of sponsored situations arising from the covid-19 disruption

Ares raises $3 billion special situations fund ahead of huge European direct lending launch
Ares Management has witnessed “accelerated fundraising” for its special situations fund, which it has closed at around $3 billion, according to the firm’s earnings calls. The firm also launched its fifth European direct lending fund this week, which Ares expects could be “the largest private comingled fund in its history”

Former Fiera private debt MDs launch direct lending firm
Three former managing directors of Fiera Private Debt and Integrated Asset Management have co-founded and launched a new direct lending firm and are seeking to raise $750 million for their first fund

Creditflux announces finalists for online CLO awards
Creditflux is pleased to announce the finalists for a new-look manager awards event, which will be hosted online for the first time.

Private credit dangers lurk, but fear drives inflows
Fear of missing out is one reason institutional investors are allocating to private credit, but market partici­pants say that investors should err on the side of caution, despite the number of attractive opportunities

Direct lenders eye 200bp premium in primary market
Deal flow is streaming in for European direct lenders who, despite monitoring portfolios for covid-19 related issues, have one eye on the primary market

Managers vie for trophies at new-look awards event
The 2020 Creditflux Manager Awards will take on a fresh complexion as we transition to a virtual event. But some things will never change: our finalists have been assessed using data alone
 

Credit hedge fund returns: March 2020 stats
Monthly performance across credit hedge funds

Fund performance: Index tranche investors make it work from home
March brought a drastic drop in return figures as covid-19 swept across the globe, as Orchard tops the Creditflux performance tables

Ucits at a glance: Long-short credit capitalises on coronavirus
Ucits funds were not spared from the crash in mid-March, but Pictet outperforms

Credit funds at a glance (May 2020)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Direct lenders look to source deal flow through government-backed loans
Direct lenders have been looking to tap into government backed loans as a way of sourcing deals, either via partnering with banks or being an accredited lender

Germany's €600 billion aid package and amended insolvency rules line road to recovery
Germany has launched two major initiatives, relevant for direct lenders, to help companies weather the negative financial impact of the covid-19 pandemic, according to Hans Stamm and Angelo Lercara, Munich-based partners at Dechert

Cairn wins €115 million for European loan fund
Cairn Capital's open-ended European Loan Fund has reached €380 million assets under management, following €115 million in commitments from two institutional investors

OFS and CIM team up for fund geared towards loans, CLOs and real assets
Credit-related investments in the new interval fund will include floating and fixed rate loans, broadly syndicated senior secured corporate loans, CLO debt and equity tranches and opportunistic credit 

New Hampshire pension invests $50 million in US direct lending
​New Hampshire Retirement System has allocated $50 million to a US direct lending manage with which it has a relationship, having committed $40 million and $50 million to predecessor funds

Florida pension allocates $600 million to three credit managers
Florida State Board of Administration has awarded $600 million to three credit managers in the first quarter, according to a board update seen by Creditflux

Apollo earmarks $20 billion for dislocation fundraising over 12 months
Apollo's returns for corporate credit, structured credit and direct origination in the first quarter were down 8.3%, 14.7% and 4.8%, respectively, but the firm is looking to launch various credit strategies, including capital solutions, dislocation strategies and distressed strategies, that it “expects to accumulate $20 billion over the next year”

TPG spins off credit arm Sixth Street
TPG has officially split from its credit arm TPG Sixth Street Partners, following talks with respective investors earlier this year

Strong structures benefit mid market CLO structures despite lack of government support
April was a brutal month for the broadly syndicated loan-backed CLO market, with swathes of deals breaching their overcollateralisation limits. But sources say their middle market counterparts could be better placed to weather the storm if the coronavirus crisis escalates

GSO eyes $7 billion for credit opps fund and closes $4.8 billion European direct lending fund
GSO is eyeing a $7 billion target size for a new credit opportunites fund. The New York-based manager recently closed its second European direct lending fund, GSO Senior European Debt Fund II, at $4.8 billion