Andera collects €500 million for sponsorless mezzanine debt fund
Andera Partners, has held a final close on its sponsorless mezzanine fund, ActoMezz IV, exceeding its hard cap at €500 million

MeDirect confirms corp credit step-back, as CLO team seeks spin-off
MeDirect has confirmed it will reduce corporate lending to focus on retail clients, following a question by Creditflux on the firm's plans to spin off its CLO-managing specialist credit team

Fund performance: CLO funds keep up the momentum for second month running
May returns have been led by continued momentum from CLO funds. In the last month, funds that invest in CLO notes in some capacity have made up 90% of our top 10, while 97% of funds listed generated positive returns - an improvement of 15% on last month's figures.

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

Ucits at a glance: Ucits recover lost ground
The foot has come off the gas for many funds - 57% of funds did not break the 2% return barrier.

Canadian pension Imco outlines two-year $6 billion credit plans
The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (Imco) has a range of credit strategies in its sights as it seeks to deploy $6 billion in the next two years as part of the build out of a global credit platform, according to officials at the company

Preparing for a second wave
Panellists on the Creditflux US private credit webinar last month said that they were focused on companies most affected by the coronavirus. A reopening of the primary market can wait

Investors take comfort from an active secondary market, but liquidity can be a mixed blessing
One of the most interesting characteristics of credit behaviour during the coronavirus era has been the momentum of junk bonds, with sharp changes in issuer and investor confidence around the asset class driven by technical factors: near-zero interest rates, the Fed’s support of fallen angels and skewed-to-worse ratings for leveraged loans

Direct lender Apera bolsters Munich office with UniCredit hire
Direct lender Apera Asset Management has appointed a principal in the firm’s Munich office focused on Dach (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) investments

ELF Capital completes spin out of ESO’s German direct lending platform
ESO Capital’s Frankfurt-based direct lending team has spun out under the banner of ELF Capital

Mid-market CLO issuance returns as Fortress prices $390 million deal
Fortress Investment Group has overcome mid-market CLO headwinds to become only the second manager to price a new issue deal since covid-19

LP round up: horseshoe does the trick for Pimco and other distressed managers
Institutional investors poured $2.7 billion into credit this week through 14 managers, according to board documentation seen by Creditflux

EIF backs Oddo's inaugural mittelstand debt fund as it holds €131 million first close
Oddo BHF Asset Management, the Franco-German asset manager, has held a first close on its inaugural German Mittlestand debt fund and has recieved a cornerstone investment from the European Investment Fund 

BNP Paribas AM collects €576.5 million for second European debt fund
BNP Paribas Asset Management has held a final close on its second European debt fund, BNP Paribas Euro SME Debt Fund II, which provides senior debt to small and medium-sized companies primarily in France, Italy and Belgium

Time catches up with middle market CLOs as Moody's takes rating action
Moody's has taken rating action on nine middle market CLO tranches by putting them on review for possible downgrade, the agency said in a statement

Four managers join forces on gigantic £1.9 billion unitranche
The supersized transaction to Ardonagh Group, led by Ares, is the largest ever unitranche facility

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 

Oaktree sets up North America sourcing and origination group
Oaktree intends for the platform to enhance its private credit sourcing and deal-origination capabilities

LP round-up: Champaign pension raises a glass (or bucket) to private credit
Institutional investors allocated over $600 million to 11 managers this week, according to board documentation seen by Creditflux

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

Cerberus raises $779 million for direct lending fund
Cerberus Business Finance is raising a new direct lending fund, according to regulatory filings

LP round-up: mighty Oaks win $1 billion apiece from Calpers
Credit investors allocated over $3 billion to 18 credit managers this week across a wide range of strategies

Värde targets $1 billion for inaugural dedicated credit dislocation fund
Värde is seeking to raise $1 billion for its dislocation and distressed debt fund, according to an investor presentation seen by Creditflux. The firm is targeting a first close this month

EQT launches 'largest' ESG-linked subscription credit facility
EQT has launched what it says is the largest ever environmental, social and governance-linked (ESG) subscription credit facility in the global fund financing markets