New York direct lender announces three senior promotions
Direct lender Abacus slides three counters across into the promoted section

Ironwood raises at least $162 million for new mezz fund
Connecticut-based Ironwood Capital has raised in excess of $162 million for its latest mezzanine fund – Ironwood Mezzanine Fund IV, according to recent SEC filings.

Manager unleashes new Hunting Dog credit fund
Hunting Dog, a firm which prizes canine-like traits such as discipline and perseverence, is marketing a new direct lending strategy

Peak Rock brings in $1.3 billion for mid market fund
Austin-based Peak Rock Capital has closed its second fund at hard cap $1.3 billion, exceeding its target of $900 million

Searchlight and LionTree join forces on TMT investments
Searchight + LionTree = LightTree, a new partnership which will invest across debt and equity in the TMT space

Credit fund manager Drift enters into $50 million secured credit facility
Alternative asset manager Drift Capital Partners has entered into a $50 million senior secured credit facility for its Drift Credit Opportunities Fund

Minneapolis mezzanine lender announces promotion
GMB Mezzanine Capital has promoted its vice president Judd Stevens to principal, according to a press release

Barings secures $1.85 billion for private loan fund after support from 45 investors
Global asset manager Barings has held the final close of its North American Private Loan fund, securing $1.85 billion in capital commitments, according to a press release

Rothschild's Yeates joins Investcorp to head European credit funds business
Credit veteran Phil Yeates has joined Investcorp Credit Management as a managing director and head of its European credit funds business, according to an announcement this morning

LGIM hires three to private credit team
Legal and General Investment Management Real Assets (LGIM) has announced three senior hires to its private credit business 

French direct lender closes real estate debt fund below target
French direct lending specialist Zencap Asset Management has closed its second real estate debt fund on €245 million

KKR raises $2.24 billion for second private credit opportunities fund
Global investment firm KKR has announced the final close of its second private credit opportunities fund, KKR Private Credit Opportunities II, at $2.24 billion

Former Octopus credit manager inks deal to join bridging lender
London bridging lender Octane Capital has hired Graham Macaulay from Octopus Property

Aviation fund takes off with $250 million
A North Carolina-based manager has hit the hard cap for its new aviation fund, collecting capital commitments of $250 million

UK manager hires two to lead British Business Bank-sponsored debt funds
UK-based Maven Capital Partners has announced the appointment of Steve Lewis and Jonathan Lowe as investment directors to lead two debt fund teams

European direct lending up 34% in recent quarter: Deloitte report
Direct lending in Europe continues to boom, according to the latest Deloitte deal tracker, which found a 34% growth of direct lending deals in third quarter 2017 alone compared to third quarter 2016

TCW seeks to ramp up potential BDC
TCW is ramping up a new fund that intends to operate as a business development company (BDC) – having just hired a TCW affiliate as investment advisor and manager

Angel Oak exceeds $250 million target for inaugural mortgage credit fund
The Altanta-based manager has held a final close on its first private debt fund, recieving capital commitments of $291 million 

Japanese insurance giant acquires minority stake in TCW from Carlyle
Japanese life insurer Nippon Life Insurance Company has completed its previously announced acquisition of a 24.75% minority stake in TCW from Carlyle Group

Carlyle, ICG and Oaktree earn approvals as Chile's first alternatives managers
The news follows recent reforms to Chile’s Pension Fund Law allowing pension fund administrators to invest directly in alternative asset managers

Goldman Sachs BDC and university endowment extend JV’s investment period
A joint venture between Goldman Sachs BDC and University of California Regents has extended its investment period for two months, regulatory filings show

Join the debate: is Christopher Nolan moonlighting for Creditflux?
A story last month on direct lender Prestige caused one reader to draw comparisons with a script from film director Christopher Nolan 

Points up front: zombie managers near extinction
The long-term nature of CLOs means the market tends to have a large number of zombie managers, those with one or two deals outstanding but no plans for future issuance. However, a spate of redemptions, especially in Europe, has swept away some of the ghostly deadwood.

The biggest credit stories in 2017
CLO ramp-up risk, new risk retention proposals and new CLO joint ventures were in the headlines last year. Here, Creditflux reveals the most read stories of 2017

Direct lending leverage takes off
HPS, NXT and Crescent target mid market with leverage in Q4. By Grace Jennings-Edquist