Symphony, Wellfleet, Carlyle, American Capital price CLOs; volume down 70% from year ago

By Cristal Cody

Eureka Springs, Ark., March 22 – CLO managers Symphony Asset Management LLC, Carlyle Investment Management LLC, Wellfleet Credit Partners, LLC and American Capital CLO Management, LLC tapped the primary market with new deals.

Symphony Asset Management priced $512 million of notes in its first CLO offering of 2016.

Carlyle Investment Management tapped the U.S. primary market for the first time this year with a $402.9 million CLO vehicle.

Wellfleet Credit Partners brought a $358.5 million CLO, its second since the company began operations in 2015.

American Capital CLO Management priced $405.48 million of notes in its first CLO offering of the year.

Global year-to-date issuance is nearly $8 billion, according to J.P. Morgan Securities LLC.

“New issue activity has picked up after a slow start to the year,” the analysts said in a note. “Since the market rally started in mid-February, the last four weeks have seen $5.4 [billion of] CLO supply. Issuance is 70% less than this time last year, which had the second highest YTD tally in the last 10 years.”

Symphony Asset sells CLO

Symphony Asset Management priced $512 million of notes due April 15, 2028 in the CLO deal via Goldman Sachs & Co., according to a market source.

Symphony CLO XVII Ltd./Symphony CLO XVII LLC sold $280.75 million of class A-1 senior secured floating-rate notes at Libor plus 150 basis points in the senior tranche.

The deal is backed primarily by broadly syndicated first-lien senior secured loans.

Proceeds will be used to purchase a portfolio of $500 million of mostly senior secured leveraged loans.

Symphony Asset Management priced one CLO offering and refinanced one vintage CLO deal in 2015.

The asset management firm is based in San Francisco.

Carlyle raises $402.9 million

Carlyle Investment Management sold $402.9 million of notes due April 20, 2027 in the Carlyle Global Market Strategies CLO 2016-1, Ltd./Carlyle Global Market Strategies CLO 2016-1 LLC deal, according to a market source.

The CLO priced $246.4 million of class A-1 senior secured floating-rate notes at Libor plus 158 bps at the top of the capital stack.

JPMorgan was the placement agent.

Carlyle Investment Management will manage the CLO.

The deal is backed primarily by broadly syndicated first-lien senior secured corporate loans.

Carlyle Investment Management was in the primary market in 2015 with five U.S. broadly syndicated CLO deals and one middle-market CLO offering.

The asset management firm is an affiliate of the Washington, D.C.-based Carlyle Group.

Wellfleet taps market

Wellfleet Credit Partners sold $358.5 million of notes due April 20, 2028 in the Wellfleet CLO 2016-1, Ltd./Wellfleet CLO 2016-1 LLC offering, according to a market source.

The CLO priced a $227.5 million tranche of AAA-rated floating-rate notes at Libor plus 175 bps.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC arranged the offering.

The deal is collateralized primarily by first-lien senior secured loans.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to purchase a $350 million portfolio of mostly senior secured leveraged loans.

Wellfleet Credit Partners has priced two CLOs since it was formed, including the $360 million Wellfleet CLO 2015-1, LLC deal on Aug. 28, 2015.

Greenwich, Conn.-based Wellfleet Credit Partners is a performing credit arm created in 2015 by private investment firm Littlejohn & Co., LLC.

American Capital prints CLO

American Capital CLO Management priced $405.48 million of notes due April 15, 2025 in a new CLO offering via Citigroup Global Markets Inc., according to a market source.

ACAS CLO IX, Ltd./ACAS CLO IX LLC sold $268 million of class A-1 senior secured floating-rate notes at Libor plus 158 bps.

The transaction is backed mainly by broadly syndicated first-lien senior secured corporate loans.

American Capital CLO Management priced two CLO transactions in 2015.

The firm is a subsidiary of Bethesda, Md.-based private equity firm and asset manager American Capital Asset Management, LLC.

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