Investcorp closes €250 million collaterised loan obligation

The Bahrain-based firm had closed a €489m CLO earlier this year

Investcorp remains commited to reaching its $50bn of assets under management despite the challenges of Covid-19 and a global recession. Courtesy Investcorp

Investcorp, the Bahrain-based asset manager that counts Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, closed a €250 million (Dh1 billion) collaterised loan obligation (CLO) as it looks to invest in performing assets to boost growth.

The latest transaction represents the firm’s seventeenth second generation, post-financial crisis European CLO and brings its total assets under management (AUM) in European CLOs to over €7bn, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

CLOs are corporate loans taken out by private equity firms to conduct leveraged buyouts.

Investcorp closed its first CLO, which is valued at €489m, in March this year.

“We are pleased to have successfully closed Harvest XXIV as we believe the current environment offers attractive opportunities to invest in strong, performing assets at attractive levels,” Jeremy Ghose, global head of Investcorp Credit Management, said. “Following the final close of our Mount Row (Levered) Credit Fund in May, this brings total new AUM raised in 2020 year to date to $1.5bn (Dh5.5bn).”

Investcorp said the CLO attracted strong interest from 19 external investors and is backed by a diversified portfolio of senior-secured leveraged loans representing industries such as services, healthcare, software and education.

“We believe this latest milestone is a testament to the strength of our credit platform and our team’s ability to capitalise on market opportunities in a post Covid investment landscape,” Mr Ghose said.

Investcorp’s credit management business manages approximately $13bn AUM globally and has invested across global credit markets for more than 15 years.

In May, the company closed a new fund targeting Italian distressed debt with €340m in commitments to invest in Italy’s non-performing loan market. The Italian NPL Fund II will invest in distressed debt secured by residential and commercial real estate in the European country.

Investcorp is also planning to invest heavily in technology, with plans to allocate "a significant proportion" of its $1bn-$2bn of annual private equity investments over the next two years into technology assets.