Avoca sells €300m collateralized loans

Avoca Capital Holdings, a Dublin-based asset manager has sold €300 million ($466 million) of bonds backed by leveraged buyout loans, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction.

The collateralized loan obligation, called Avoca CLO IX, was arranged by Credit Suisse Group and packages loans bought from other banks and investors in the secondary market, said the person, who declined to be identified because the deal is private.

Avoca, which manages €4 billion of credit assets, will oversee the transaction for six years, selecting investments and reinvesting loan repayments, the person said. CLOs are divided into portions of varying risk and credit ratings, channeling the income to investors.

Sales of collateralized debt obligations, which include CLOs, slowed in Europe as the collapse of the subprime mortgage market caused investors to shun all but the safest government securities.

Asset managers and banks sold €7.8 billion of the notes so far this year, down from €37.5 billion a year earlier, according to Deutsche Bank AG.

Harbourmaster Capital Management, a Dublin-based CDO fund manager, plans to sell a €485 million CLO, according to Standard & Poor's.

Bloomberg

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