Sacramento pension earmarks $150 million for private credit in 2020
The pension fund expects to commit to two direct lending funds and one credit fund it describes as 'opportunistic'

McClatchy CDS auction set for 10 March, despite fast-track request
Dealers on the Americas Determinations Committee have unanimously agreed to hold an auction to settle McClatchy CDS on 10 March, ignoring a request to expedite the process ahead of the media company’s scheduled plan of reorganisation

VIP Cinema makes uncomfortable viewing for CLOs as it's reeled into Chapter 11
CLOs hold $52.9 million of debt in seatmaker VIP Cinema Holdings, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the District of Delaware

Super-fast CDS auction demanded on McClatchy
The DC has ruled that media company McClatchy triggered a bankruptcy credit event on 13 February. But it is yet to set a date for the credit event auction

Pantheon and Solutio join forces on €250 million private debt secondaries fund
Pantheon Ventures and Munich-based Solutio have held a final close on their inaugural joint private debt secondary fund above its €250 million hard-cap

Texas pension pumps $300 million into Pimco fund
Texas Municipal Retirement System has earmarked up to $300 million to a credit fund managed by Pimco, according to board documents seen by Creditflux, building on a relationship established through a predecessor fund

Dechert adds restructuring partner in London
Dechert has added a former Shearman & Sterling official as a partner in its global financial restructuring practice

McClatchy bankruptcy adds to slew of US media credit events
The McClatchy Company, a media sector constituent of CDS index CDX HY, has triggered a bankruptcy credit event, the Americas Determinations Committee has ruled

S&P prescribes Akorn with triple-C rating amid possible bankruptcy
Akorn, a pharmaceutical company, has been downgraded to triple-C by S&P, following the announcement that Akorn has agreed plans to sell all its assets to repay debt as part of its standstill agreement extension

CLOs feel flat after housing $335 million of bankrupt RentPath
CLOs house $334.5 million of the debt of RentPath Holdings, which filed for Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Wednesday

Whiting Petroleum CDS gaps wider as it engages debt advisors
Credit event concerns have taken CDX HY constituent Whiting Petroleum to a recent wide print, after the energy exploration firm’s management held talks with advisors to find ways to remedy its capital structure

Angelo Gordon pulls in $1.8 billion for inaugural credit solutions fund
Angelo Gordon has held a $1.8 billion final close on an inaugural credit fund geared towards geared towards distressed debt and special situations, surpassing its initial $1 billion target size

HIG promotes Scotland to co-head of European special situations
HIG Bayside Capital, the distressed and special situation affiliate of HIG Capital, has promoted Andrew Scotland to co-head the firm’s European special situations debt activities

Beneath the triple C: $1 billion of CLO credits take a dive
$957.9 million worth of loans held by CLOs suffered downgrades to triple C last month, with a further $442.1 million of existing triple C credits getting knocked lower still, according to the latest trustee reports on CLOi.

Credit Rendezvous: the outlook in 2020 across a dozen segments of the credit market
Welcome to the Credit Rendezvous, the first instalment of a regular feature published by Creditflux that tracks credit market dynamics in a dozen segments from investment grade, liquid loans, CLOs and CSOs all the way through to distressed debt. We view this as the meeting point for credit specialists across strategies to share their perspectives

McCarthy Denning hires special situations and credit trading partner from Jones Day
Law firm McCarthy Denning has appointed a former Jones Day partner to its banking and financing division in London

Pimco plans to outperform come rain or shine with $4.5bn all-weather fund
Pimco has become the latest manager to fashion a flexible, all weather credit fund that invests across public and private markets, geographies and capital structures. The Newport Beach-based manager is hoping to raise $3 billion for the strategy. With half a turn of leverage, it could have up to $4.5 billion to deploy.

Fund performance: Presents under the tree as CLO funds perform

Ucits at a glance: Ucits end strong year on a high

Credit funds at a glance

York liquidates credit opportunities fund following redemption requests
York Capital Management has decided to liquidate its 2011 vintage credit opportunities fund following what it termed 'significant redemption requests'

Private credit funds could find better buying opportunities this year, says NEPC
Institutional investors looking to allocate to private credit in 2020 should focus on distressed debt, opportunistic credit and niche lending, according to investment consultant NEPC, with 2019 vintage funds potentially seeing “better buying opportunities” despite valuations being at cyclical highs

Carlyle appoints regional head of credit opps fund
Carlyle Group has hired a managing director to serve as North American head of its credit opps fund

Credit event protocol goes into force with 60 extra sign-ups
The International Swaps & Derivatives Association is going live today with a protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events from the CDS market, having signed up 1,358 entities

Ares' new Asian credit affiliate wins $400 million from New York pension
New York State Common Retirement Fund has committed $400 million to distressed and special situations investments in the Asia-Pacific region