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Not all that glitters is gold. And not everyone agrees that the recent era for private credit should be called “the golden age.”
In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin, produced in partnership with Arena Investors, senior private credit reporter Peter Benson sits down with Arena co-founding CEO and CIO Dan Zwirn to talk through his latest white paper. He takes a contrarian look at the direct lending space, and considers whether this high-rate environment will turn out to be as fruitful for late adopters as the hype would lead one to believe.
Have any feedback for us? Please send us a note at [email protected]. Thanks for listening! -
Private credit in both the US and Europe has faced a great deal of pressure from bank lenders in 2024. But despite a slow start, the asset class is holding its ground on a year-to-date basis.
In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin, private credit editor David Brooke digs into the data with analysts Devin McGinley and Elijah Jackson. They chat through the trends, diving into their respective Q3 2024 private credit reports. You can read both reports here and here.
To learn more about 9fin’s private credit reports, send a note to the team at [email protected]. For feedback on the podcast, or to learn how to get involved, send a note to [email protected].
Thanks for listening! -
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A majority of American voters have embraced Donald Trump’s message, and a lot of things are about to change. What does his resounding victory in this week’s Presidential election mean for debt capital markets?
It’s a little early to give a comprehensive answer, but in this special edition of Cloud 9fin we’ve done our best to touch on some of the big issues. Tune in to hear Will Caiger-Smith and Sasha Padbidri break down the implications in a short but sweet 10 minutes.
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All eyes are on the results of the US election results today, and soon, they’ll turn back to the Federal Reserve. Hinging on whether the Fed decides to continue rate cutting at its next meeting — and how deeply — a flood of M&A could hit the market. In the meantime, though, funds have been forced to take extraordinary measures to make their way through the muddle in the middle.
In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin, private credit editor David Brooke sits down with private credit reporter Peter Benson for a whistle stop tour through NAV — or Net Asset Value — loan structures. Check out Peter’s recent article on NAV structures here, and find all of the latest private credit coverage on 9fin.com.
Have any feedback for us? Send us a note at [email protected]. -
Batten down the hatches, because the cost of environmental damage continues to rise.
Hurricanes and natural disasters pose a threat to leveraged credits. This year’s Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June to November, has caused significant physical and financial damage to borrowers and civilians located mainly in the southeastern part of the US. Damages from hurricanes Helene and Milton, specifically, are estimated by published reports to be around $50bn each, ranking them among the costliest disasters in recent history.
In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin hosted by leveraged finance editor David Bell, senior reporter Sasha Padbidri talks to Karen Clark, a Nobel Prize-winning pioneer in the catastrophe modeling space. Clark was also the subject of Michael Lewis’ 2007 article In Nature’s Casino for The New York Times Magazine, which examines the topic of catastrophe modeling in great detail.
Together, they discuss how the technology of catastrophe modeling has advanced since the 1980s and why understanding these risks are critical for company executives and insurers as natural disasters continue to reshape the financial landscape.
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Even with competition heating up, the direct lending market is ripe with opportunity.
In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin, Fin Strathern interviews Bill Ammons, founding partner and portfolio manager at AlbaCore Capital.
They discuss the evolution of leveraged finance as direct lending develops, and the importance of providing flexibility and optionality. Bill shares insights from his extensive career, emphasizing the importance of credit selection and AlbaCore’s mission to adapt to market demands.
Have any feedback for us? Send us an email at [email protected]. Thanks for listening! -
Every now and then a situation comes around that stretches the limits of possibility. System1 is just such a situation, and private credit investors should take note.
In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin, distressed legal analyst Jane Komsky and distressed credit analyst Swapnil Sawant reveal the playbook of SPAC-era darling System1’s unique take on a liability management exercise that highlights a novel approach asset stripping.
Read more about the mechanics of this deal in Swapnil’s analysis on 9fin.com. To get involved in the podcast, drop us a line at [email protected]. -
CLO captive equity funds have emerged as an important part of a manager’s toolkit, affording greater control over CLO issuance patterns. In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin, MidOcean Partners’ Jamil Nathoo tells 9fin’s global head of CLOs Tanvi Gupta about the strengths and weaknesses of certain fund structures.
They discuss new frontiers opening up in the Middle East and South America amid increasing appetite for CLOs and how this poses its own challenges, as well as how to compete with private credit fundraising. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss.
If you have any feedback or would like to get involved in the CLO series on Cloud 9fin, reach out to us at [email protected]. Thanks for listening.
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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before but what the heck did DISH (Echostar) and DIRECTV just say they were going to do? And will it actually happen this time?
In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin, listen in as senior reporter William Hoffman sits down with 9fin credit analysts Kartik Dar and Daniel Stone to untangle the DISH and DIRECTV transactions and debt exchanges and speculate on the merger's antitrust prospects.
Find Dan’s latest piece on the path to regulatory approval for the DISH-DIRECTV merger here, and find Kartik’s latest analysis on the deal here. Another worthy read is this piece by our distressed team, co-authored by William, Kartik and our deputy distressed editor Rachel Butt.
If you have any feedback for the team or would like to learn more about how to get involved, send a note to [email protected]. Thanks for listening. -
By nature, private credit is opaque. At least for now. But 9fin’s private credit team is hard at work building a data set that will help shed light on the trends and movements in the direct lending space.
In this bonus episode of Cloud 9fin, private credit editor David Brooke invites private credit analyst Elijah Jackson to share his experience in building the inaugural 9fin private credit report.
To learn more about our private credit data platform and how to access Elijah’s report, email [email protected]. And as always, if you have any feedback on this episode or any other, send us a note at [email protected]. Thanks for listening.
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Cooperation agreements have taken the LME world by storm, foiling distressed companies' plans to play creditors off of one another to secure a better deal. But are these agreements anti-competitive?
In this week's episode of Cloud 9fin, our global head of distressed and restructuring Max Frumes delves into this quandary with distressed legal analyst Jane Komsky. They compare the use of co-op agreements to a US Supreme Court case that pitted an apparel supplier against the NFL, and look into whether co-op agreements could be considered a Sherman Act violation.
For more detail on this topic, read Jane's analysis and our follow-up Default Notice newsletter on 9fin.com. If you have any feedback for us about this episode, or requests to get involved in the podcast, email us at [email protected]. Thanks for listening. -
One of the strengths of private credit is its flexibility. And who doesn’t love to PIK and choose?
In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin, US private credit editor David Brooke asks senior reporter Shubham Saharan to add another contribution to the ever-evolving private credit glossary as they dive into the definition of synthetic PIKs. Listen in to learn about what these instruments are, how they’re being used by the industry, and whether they’re likely to become a passing trend or an emerging staple.
If you have any feedback for us, send us a note at [email protected]. -
Zombie companies are businesses that, despite being insolvent, manage to survive for extended periods. Traditionally, these companies are defined by their inability to cover interest payments, but a more refined definition points to companies with low Z-scores, indicating a high probability of default. Over the past three decades, the prevalence of zombie companies has surged, especially in the US, leading to concerns about their broader impact on the economy.
The growing number of zombie companies contributes to the misallocation of resources, disinflation, and reduced productivity. Although zombie companies are inefficient, they continue operating for years due to financial and structural support.
In this episode of Cloud 9fin, distressed debt reporter Max Reyes sits down with Dr. Edward Altman, professor emeritus at the NYU Stern School of Business and famous for developing the Altman Z-Score, to talk about what defines zombie companies, their prevalence and the negative effects they have on the economy.
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All eyes are on media giant Paramount Global and its $13bn debt stack, amid the threat of a downgrade to junk status. With streaming wars intensifying and cable subscribers slowly converting to Paramount Plus, many are left asking: Is Paramount’s debt heading for a rocky road, or is there still a way back to stability?
Despite its challenges, Paramount holds a strong liquidity position with $2.3 billion in cash and $3.5 billion in undrawn revolver capacity. However, with debt maturing soon and uncertainty surrounding the Skydance acquisition, the stakes are high as Paramount works to balance leverage and boost cash flow amid a shifting media landscape.
For this week's episode of Cloud 9fin, senior reporter William Hoffman and credit analyst Dan Stone explore the drama unfolding at Paramount, the implications of its potential downgrade, and whether other media giants like Warner Bros. Discovery could be next in line.
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Private credit funds are venturing back to their roots, embracing a strategy that blends the old with the new as hybrid deals are back in vogue.
But is this a nostalgic trip down memory lane, or a calculated move with long-term implications?
In this episode of Cloud 9fin, leveraged finance reporter Ryan Daniel and senior private credit reporter Synne Johnsson discuss this trend, the driving forces behind this shift and ponder the future of private credit in this evolving market.
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Hedge funds are making a bold push into the private credit arena, lured by the promise of higher returns. However, new territory is not without its hurdles, as these funds navigate a landscape already populated by established players.
In this episode of Cloud 9fin private credit reporter Peter Benson and senior private credit reporter Shubham Saharan discuss the complexities of this market shift and the different strategies hedge funds are using to gain a foothold in private credit.
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Private credit fundraising has been going through an inflection point in recent years, as high interest rates and geopolitical risk increasingly drive LPs to only the most established fund managers. The market shift has many wondering, is the sector leaving its “Golden Age” and entering its "Silver Fox era”?
Despite these challenges, investors are finding new opportunities as they adapt to the changing landscape.
For this week's episode of Cloud 9fin, private credit reporters Peter Benson and Fin Strathern discuss the evolving world of private credit fundraising, the rise of more niche strategies, and the use of perpetual capital vehicles.
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The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision on 27 June ruled that a bankruptcy court does not have the statutory authority to provide non-consensual third party releases. Such releases had been a crucial part of the Purdue Pharma Chapter 11 plan, among others, where the bankruptcy system was being employed to shield non-debtors from litigation without full creditor consent.
The decision coincided with the timely publication of Unjust Debts by UNC law professor Melissa Jacoby, which provides a critical history of how the use of Chapter 11 has expanded far beyond the initial scope laid out in the Bankruptcy Code enacted in 1978.
For this week's episode of Cloud 9fin, global head of distressed and restructuring Max Frumes discusses this refreshing and crucial snapshot of bankruptcy law that is both technical and accessible with Professor Jacoby, and how current events might further shape the bankruptcy courts around the country.
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Not all liability management deals are "violent"; in fact the majority of deals in 2024 have allowed for participation by non ad hoc group lenders who in the past had been entirely cut out of the economics of non pro rata priming transactions.
For this week's episode of Cloud 9fin, global head of distressed and restructuring Max Frumes, distressed legal analyst Jane Komsky, and private credit reporter Sami Vukelj walk through the world of liability management.
The discussion covers the benefits and limitations of this kinder, gentler LME trend, with a focus on the Pluralsight and AMC Entertainment transactions.
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US leveraged buyout volumes are slowly starting to improve, with the likes of Apollo, Thoma Bravo, CD&R and TowerBrook making moves. This comes after a long period where buyers and sellers struggled to find common ground in valuations and could bring a welcome shot of new debt issuance for investors that are eager to lend. So what changed? And is this improvement in deal activity significant enough to satisfy investor demand for paper?
In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin — recorded before the recent spike in market volatility — US LevFin editor David Bell sits down with senior reporter Sasha Padbidri and credit analyst Alec Keblish to unpack the hottest themes of recent LBO activity.
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