CQS announced that it has entered into a strategic investment agreement with Jefferies and three investment management firms to support the new issuance of U.S. collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) on the CQS platform.
Under the terms of the agreement, Jefferies and the investment management firms will provide CLO equity capital and warehouse funding to support the new issuance of four to five CQS CLOs over the next two to three years, subject to certain conditions. As strategic investors, Jefferies and the investment management firms will share in the growth of the CQS CLO platform, but are otherwise not involved in the management of the applicable CLOs. Each of the investors will make their own independent decisions regarding the potential purchase or sale of any such CLO equity.
The CQS US CLO Platform, led by Jim Fitzpatrick, is supported by the breadth and depth of the CQS global research capability, including 19 corporate credit analysts with an average of 15 years' experience located across the U.S. and Europe. The launch builds upon the existing CQS European CLO platform.
Jason Schechter, Head of CLO Origination and Trading at Jefferies, said, "We are excited about entering this relationship with CQS and the other strategic investors, which — coupled with CQS's depth and breadth in Senior Secured Loan investing, its extremely strong and coordinated Global Loan Team, and its experience managing European CLOs — will provide an excellent foundation for a world class U.S. CLO manager."
Source: CQS