Stratus-faction: Blackstone climbs back to the top
Nine CLOs in a year crushed by covid takes Blackstone back to the top of the AUM rankings. But for all managers, it was a good effort to get back on track

UK pension seeks direct lending manager for £250 million commitment
Essex Pension Fund has issued a request for proposals to allocate up to £250 million to a direct lending fund

Europcar CDS auction shocks protection buyers with zero pay-out
Wednesay's auction to settle Europcar Mobility Group CDS has left protection buyers on the company with nothing to show for their investments and hedges, after dealers produced an unexpected 100% recovery on contracts due to a technical mismatch in bids and orders

Europcar sets course for high recovery in 2021's first credit event auction
An auction to settle CDS referencing Europcar Mobility Group has generated an initial market midpoint of 73.5 cents, implying the pay-out to protection buyers could be only 26.5 cents - much lower than five-year CDS contracts had implied

Oquendo exceeds €150 million hard cap for senior direct lending fund
Spanish direct lender Oquendo held a €172 million final close on its senior direct lending fund, Oquendo Senior Debt Fund, in December 

Partners lines up first European CLO reset in 11 months
Partners Group is laying the groundwork to print one of the first CLO primary transactions in Europe of 2021, having teamed up with BNP Paribas to issue a reset of a 2018 vintage deal

ICG hires managing director to direct lending business
Intermediate Capital Group has appointed a managing director within its European senior direct lending team

Beneath the triple C: 13 CLO loans take a dive but defaults subside to a ripple
22 corporate debt issuers were downgraded to triple C or below in November and December by Moody’s or S&P, out of which 13 can be found in CLO portfolios  – hurting $4.55 billion of US CLO loans, €1.87 billion of European CLO portfolios and almost $80 million of middle market CLOs loans, according to CLO-i

Jaguar accelerates tighter as CDS indices go their own way
UK carmaker Jaguar is on a rallying run and gathering pace in CDS, despite CDS indices underperforming the more bullish tone in other assets, including bonds

Europcar CDS auction to include loan deliverables following challenge
An auction tomorrow to settle CDS contracts referencing Europcar Mobility Group will include a term loan facility agreement as a deliverable obligation, following a challenge to the initial list

Anima holds first close on Italian direct lending fund with EIF backing to follow
The Anima Alternative 1 fund has a €150 million target and €200 million hard cap

Investec holds €165 million first close on inaugural direct lending fund
Investec has held a first close of its inaugural debt fund, Investec Private Debt Fund I, at €165million

LCH reports 60% growth in CDS clearing
LCH, the central clearing house of London Stock Exchange Group, has reported growth in clearing of index, option and single name CDS during 2020

Primary weighs as pain contributor in credit slump
Credit is beginning the week on uncertain footing with spreads widening on worries about covid case numbers in Europe and investors trying to size up the scale of primary market activity in the coming weeks

Europcar auction faces challenge with tight turnaround
The Emea Determinations Committee has little time to settle a challenge on Europcar Mobility Group deliverable obligations if an auction to settle CDS contracts referencing the defaulted French vehicle hire firm is to take place on time this week

Tikehau hires head of French private debt
Tikehau Capital has hired a head of France and chief operating officer within the firm’s €8.9 billion private debt team

Kartesia prioritises ESG with newly created role
Kartesia says it has appointed Coralie De Maesschack as head of ESG and corporate, social responsibilities (CSR) in a newly-created role

Euro CLO league tables: Killer Bs: Barclays and Blackstone cause buzz to lead new issuance
The coronavirus pandemic-induced volatility had a marked effect on the European CLO market in 2020 with total issuance falling by €18.5 billion and new issuance €7.8 billion lower than 2019’s figures

Global 2020 CLO league tables
Global 2020 CLO league tables 

Full circle for credit as investors navigate stormy year-opener
Credit is ending 2021's politically tumultuous first week tighter in cash bonds and flattish in CDS spreads, but performance has noticeably lagged more emphatic improvements in stocks, commodities and the record-hitting Bitcoin

Sixth Streets hits €1 billion hard cap for second European direct lending fund
Sixth Street has closed its second European direct lending fund, Sixth Street Specialty Lending Europe II, at its €1 billion hard cap

Onex hires former BlackRock official as European CLO head following departure
The appointment comes after the departure of Onex's senior-most European CLO portfolio manager Steve Baker late last year

LP round-up: investors gift private debt and leveraged loan RFPs over holiday season
2020 ended on a strong note with four institutional investors increasing asset allocation to private debt or initiating private debt and leveraged loan searches. ArrowMark, Banner Ridge, BBAM, HIG Whitehorse, Monroe and Rialto were also awarded mandates

Bet on beta compression - except in sub fin CDS, say BofA strategists
Beta compression will be a dominant theme in 2021 for high yield versus investment grade CDS and bonds, financial versus non-financial credit and subordinated versus senior financial bonds, say Bank or America strategists in a research note. Short volatility positions are also attractive, they add, while cautioning sub versus senior financial CDS could buck the trend