We’re delighted to be sponsoring IMN’s US CLO Industry Forum this year! Don’t miss the chance to meet our team in New York on May 20^th for the largest CLO investor gathering in the US. Stop by our booth to meet with Lora Peloquin, Randy Reider, Kennedy Glasscock, Devin Joyce and Tim Ruxton to learn more about Alter Domus’ solutions for CLO managers.

Alter Domus’ Jeff Sykes and Rahul Prabhudesai will be attending the CrossState Connect Annual Convention in Atlantic City, NJ from May 19-21. The event is set to cover the hottest topics in the credit union space, from trends in network lending to the future of fraud and more. Stop by booth #202 to visit with the Alter Domus team and learn more about our range of solutions for credit union professionals.

What does the future have in store for direct lending, distressed debt, NAV financing, and opportunistic credit? Join Patrick McCullagh at the two-day PDI Europe Summit in London to discuss. From LP considerations on geography, strategies, and risk profiles in debt investing to the fundraising climate and outlook for emerging and existing fund managers, the conference to cover all angles of navigating private credit in such a complex market.

If you’re also attending the event, be sure to reach out to Patrick in advance to set up a meeting.

The lending landscape is shifting, and staying ahead means understanding the new SOP 50 10 7.1 and recent policy changes. Join Alter Domus’ John Budyak from April 23-25 as he attends the NAGGL Spring Conference in Nashville to uncover the latest in 7(a) lending. Join him there to discuss the strategies and insights critical for thriving in this evolving environment. Get in touch today!

Join Alter Domus’ very own Mark Gebauer and Dirk Sanden as they attend this year’s BAI Alternative Investor Conference from 22-24 April in Frankfurt. The annual event is focused on alternative investments in Germany, Europe and around the world, and provides the opportunity for attendees to discuss the latest market trends: from the evolving landscape of private credit to private equity co-investments and the impact of artificial intelligence on all markets. Also attending? Set up some time to speak with Mark and Dirk in advance of the conference to discuss these topics and more!

Join us in Philadelphia on April 18^th as we attend LSTA’s Operations Technology Conference: “Transforming the Loan Market Through Operations and Technology”. Our team of Tim Houghton, Julie DeBlois, Janet Roche and Matt Linke will be attending the event to meet and speak with other members of the broadly syndicated loan and private credit markets. From loan market fundamentals to best practices in trade settlement and restructurings, the event is set to cover a broad range of topics and provide solutions to operational challenges in the market. Keen to find out how Alter Domus can help you solve those problems? Get in touch with our team today!

We have seen significant fund closings and even bigger fund launches in the opportunistic credit space. Why is that corner of private debt proving so attractive?

Opportunistic credit, or special situations, is proving popular for a lot of the same reasons that private credit as a whole is attracting the attention of investors. The difference, of course, is that opportunistic credit funds offer a potentially greater uplift, particularly if you are talking about heavily distressed scenarios. Those types of restructuring deals come with significant outsized return expectations when the distressed assets get restructured or repositioned.

We have seen institutional investors increase allocations to private credit consistently in recent years to take advantage of the yield profile offered by those investments, which are now in the high single to low-double digits for performing loans, even stretching into the mid-teens. On a levered basis, you can go even higher. When you consider a special situations or opportunistic credit strategy, you are looking at returns in the 20-30 percent bracket, which is clearly attractive. I think that is the fundamental draw these funds are able to offer to investors anticipating a credit cycle correction.

What are the key macro factors propelling this opportunity set in the current market environment?

The impact of higher interest rates is starting to make itself felt. A lot of businesses, and particularly sponsor-backed businesses, are beginning to feel the pressure of that increased interest rate burden. At the same time, there has clearly been a profound impact on the consumer, in terms of maintenance of household budgets and the ability to consume. That, in turn, is having knock on implications for the companies manufacturing and selling products to consumers, especially if they have meaningful levels of indebtedness.

I think those trends will continue this year. We have not seen the same level of refinancing that we did a few years ago. Deals are not being restructured at the same velocity and that is inevitably going to impact borrowers, with structural defaults and covenant breaches pushing some credits into meaningful restructuring scenarios, which is often a precursor to a broader market trend that might lead more distressed opportunities.

There have been some aggressive predictions made, suggesting that private debt default rates could reach 5 percent this year. What are your thoughts on that and what implications could that have for opportunistic credit?

Yes, Bank of America research produced in October last year estimated that private debt defaults would soon reach 5 percent, thereby exceeding de[1]fault rates for syndicated loans, based on the fact that around one-third of deals in debt fund portfolios were due to mature within 30 months. That default risk is certainly one cloud hanging over the private credit industry right now, while at the same time creating potential opportunities for opportunistic credit managers.

Which loans are particularly at risk and therefore where do you see opportunistic plays emerging?

Private debt, as an industry, is still relatively young. It only really emerged as a fully-fledged asset class in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, when banks were retrenching from new lending to rebuild balance sheets and manage legacy portfolios.

Since that time, the private debt industry has expanded rapidly. In fact, according to PitchBook, it has swelled from $280 billion in assets under management in 2009, to $1.5 trillion in 2022, as managers have seized the opportunity to fill the void left by banks.

During that time, private credit has never really had to tackle a true market downturn and many of these credits now maturing were issued in a bull market, characterized by high levels of leverage and loose terms. Meanwhile, some managers, particularly those looking to build market share, took on more marginal transactions with especially aggressive capital structures. Those are the credits that will be particularly exposed.

In general, I would say that larger and more established platforms will have been less likely to chase the market in 2021 and 2022 and will therefore have more resilient portfolios. Those managers are also more likely to be well resourced when it comes to managing out any credits that do fall into stress. By contrast, newer managers with smaller teams are likely to come under more pressure. Ultimately, this could lead to a bifurcation in the private credit market, with top tier firms attracting an ever-larger share of both dealflow and fundraising.

Are there any particular sectors where opportunistic credit situations are more prevalent, in addition to consumer and retail?

With the exception of consumer and retail, I wouldn’t say that there is any pronounced trend with regard to the industry focus of our clients in this space right now. We are still in the early stages of how this interest rate environment is going to play out, so I think it is too early to tell. However, I would say that there has been a fair amount of portfolio rebalancing in the oil and gas industry. A lot of the traditional lenders in that space – the big retail banks – are starting to rotate out.

How is the opportunistic credit GP landscape evolving? Are we seeing many new entrants?

I think the players that have been active in this market for some time are continuing to raise funds to take advantage of the anticipated market dislocation. But I would say we are also seeing new managers looking to build teams in or[1]der to enter the space. Some of these new entrants are big name asset managers with a strong legacy in private equity. Others have a strong legacy in direct lending. They are not only looking to access these opportunistic credit deals, but also to market new strategies and new funds to their existing investor base.

How do you see the opportunistic credit market evolving?

I think that there will be a lot more borrowers testing the limits of their credit agreements. That is going to lead to forced divestment for the legacy credit funds that are currently holding onto those assets. It will therefore also lead to opportunities for opportunistic credit funds to participate.

There will probably be some initial mispricing of risk with those credits, but over time, and as the volume of dealflow grows, I think the market will establish a cadence and risk will begin to be priced correctly.

Perhaps, the biggest issue that I see on the horizon is the fact that some of these broadly syndicated loans are billions of dollars in size, which is not something that special situations of opportunistic credit funds have come across in a while. They have more typically dealt with mid-market private credit loans of a couple of hundred million dollars. It will be interesting to see how managers choose to participate in those situations and how pairings of certain GPs plays out.

This article was originally published in PDI’s Opportunistic Credit and Distressed Debt special report.

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John Budyak will be attending the NTAGGL Mid-America Lenders Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Meet him there from April 2-4 to hear the latest updates in the SBA lending space for both bank and non-bank lenders. John looks forward to meeting with other attendees. Get in touch today!

Join Jamie Loke in Singapore this week at the Private Debt Investor APAC Forum! From 27-28 March, she’ll be attending the event to uncover how private debt can create strong returns and support portfolio growth from a diverse investor standpoint.

Don’t miss the chance to meet her there to discuss our complete range of private debt solutions. Get in touch with her today using the contact details below.

Luxembourg, London and Chicago, March 4^th, 2024 – Alter Domus, a leading global provider of end-to-end tech-enabled fund administration, private debt, and corporate services for the alternative investments industry, today announced that it has secured a new strategic investment from Cinven. Cinven is a leading international private equity firm focused on building world-class global and European companies. The transaction gives Alter Domus an Enterprise Value of €4.9 billion ($5.3 bn).

Through the transaction, Cinven will support the long-term strategic growth of Alter Domus, working in close partnership with the founders of Alter Domus and Permira, who will continue to be significant shareholders. Their continued involvement and investment in the firm is a huge endorsement for Alter Domus as a business, its global growth strategy to date and its future potential. The new structure means Alter Domus will now benefit from the support of three fantastic partners in Cinven, Permira and the founders, and this transaction strengthens the capital base of the company enabling it to focus on the next stage of its growth.

Established in 2003, Alter Domus is one of the largest fund administrators globally, with over $2.5tn assets under administration (AUA). Solely dedicated to alternative assets, Alter Domus offers end-to-end tech-enabled fund administration and corporate services across three sectors: private equity, real assets and private debt. With the support of Permira since 2017, the firm has grown rapidly to meet the evolving needs of its client base, building a global network that now spans 23 jurisdictions, servicing 90% of the top 30 asset managers globally. Since Permira’s investment, Alter Domus has increased revenue, EBITDA and employee numbers by 5x.

Additional investment characteristics of Alter Domus that were attractive to Cinven include:

• Its impressive financial track record, with Alter Domus having consistently outperformed the market, delivering double-digit organic growth and attractive margin performance;
• Alter Domus represents a scarce, market-leading global fund services platform that delivers market-leading service levels to a blue-chip customer base including 90% of top-30 asset managers served;
• It is a proven M&A platform in the fragmented fund services market that has a successful track record of acquisitions, and a strong further pipeline of potential buy and build opportunities across a range of markets and geographies;
• The company operates in attractive markets, with the fund services subsector benefitting from the structural growth of private capital markets, increasing regulation and a continued trend towards outsourcing of fund services, together with downside-protection through strong revenue visibility and cashflow generation;
• Alter Domus has received significant investment in the tech-enablement of the company – resulting in best-of-breed third-party platforms, workflow automation and a leading data and analytics product capability to better serve the increasingly complex needs of its global client base; and
• It has an experienced and highly respected management team that has led the strong performance to date.

In little more than two decades, Alter Domus has grown from being a small Luxembourg-based spin-off from PwC to become a world-leading fund administrator. The investment from Cinven is a significant milestone in the development of Alter Domus as it continues along this trajectory. Together with Permira, we are confident that Cinven is the perfect partner as it continues to grow and scale internationally, and I am excited to continue to be a part of the Alter Domus journey.

Alter Domus Founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Rene Beltjens

With an enviable track record of investing in fast-growing, world-class businesses, we are thrilled to welcome Cinven as an investor in Alter Domus. Cinven shares our strategic vision and commitment to developing long-term technology-enabled partnerships with the leading alternatives firms globally through the delivery of operational and client service excellence. Together we look forward to further accelerating our international growth and delivering innovative new services to our clients.

Alter Domus Chief Executive Officer, Doug Hart

Cinven is delighted to make this investment in Alter Domus. Fund services has been a priority subsector for Cinven’s Business Services team due to the attractive business model characteristics and strong growth drivers. Cinven’s Business Services and Financial Services sector teams have worked together in close partnership and have followed Alter Domus closely over many years and admired it as a global leader, with blue-chip clients and leading service levels. Looking forward, we see significant potential for further growth and we look forward to working with the management team and shareholders in the next phase of its journey.

Cinven Partner and Head of the Business Services sector team, Rory Neeson

We would like to thank René Beltjens, Doug Hart and the entire Alter Domus team for their hard work and passion that has allowed our partnership so far to be so successful. The company is now well positioned as a global leader to enter its next phase of growth with the support of an aligned set of shareholders, and we’re looking forward to working closely with Cinven, the founders and management to continue capitalising on the growth opportunity ahead.

Global Head of Services at Permira, Philip Muelder, and Chris Pell, Principal at Permira

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Alter Domus was advised by Goldman Sachs International and Raymond James (M&A), DLA Piper, Jamieson Group (Dedicated advisors to management), Oliver Wyman (Commercial), EY (Financial & Tax) and Clifford Chance (Legal), Kroll (Compliance), Crosslake (Technology).

About Alter Domus

Alter Domus is a leading provider of tech-enabled fund administration, private debt, and corporate services for the alternative investment industry with more than 5,100 employees across 39 offices globally. Solely dedicated to alternatives, Alter Domus offers fund administration, alternative investment services, corporate services, depositary services, capital administration, transfer pricing, domiciliation, management company services, loan administration, agency services, trade settlement and CLO manager services.

Find out more at www.alterDomus.com.

About Cinven

Cinven is a leading international private equity firm focused on building world-class global and European companies. Its funds invest in six key sectors: Business Services, Consumer, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials and Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT). Cinven has offices in London, New York, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Guernsey and Luxembourg.

Cinven takes a responsible approach towards its portfolio companies, their employees, suppliers, local communities, the environment and society.

Cinven Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

In this press release ‘Cinven’ means, depending on the context, any of or collectively, Cinven Holdings Guernsey Limited, Cinven Partnership LLP, and their respective Associates (as defined in the Companies Act 2006) and/or funds managed or advised by any of the foregoing.

For additional information on Cinven please visit www.cinven.com and www.linkedin.com/company/cinven/.

About Permira

Permira is a global investment firm that backs successful businesses with growth ambitions. Founded in 1985, the firm advises funds with total committed capital of approximately €80bn and makes long-term majority and minority investments across two core asset classes, private equity and credit.

Permira is one of the world’s most active investors in the Services sector, having deployed over $11.5 billion to partner with more than 40 companies globally. Current and previous investments from the Permira funds in the sector include: Acuity Knowledge Partners, Axiom, Cielo, Clearwater Analytics, DiversiTech, Engel & Völkers, Evelyn Partners, Kroll, Motus, Relativity, Reorg and Tricor.

The Permira private equity funds have made approximately 300 private equity investments in four key sectors: Technology, Consumer, Healthcare and Services. Permira employs over 500 people in 15 offices across Europe, the United States and Asia. For more information, visit www.permira.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Media Contact: [email protected]

Katherine-Hope Keown: +44(0)7512 309360

Read Cinven‘s press release here.

Read Permira‘s press release here.