CIFC Asset Management, an alternative credit specialist with more than $35 billion in assets under management, entered into an agreement to acquire LBC Credit Partners, a middle-market direct lending platform. CIFC, which in 2021 grew its assets by more than $5 billion, expects the transaction to close before the end of the year. Other terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
LBC was founded in 2005 and has more than $3 billion in assets under management. As a result of the acquisition, LBC’s team and investment funds will become part of the CIFC platform as a subsidiary and continue to trade as LBC. LBC’s investment strategy, senior management, origination, underwriting and research and portfolio management processes will remain unchanged. LBC will also retain its offices in the Philadelphia area and Chicago and its four regional origination offices in New York, Cleveland, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
“We are thrilled to welcome LBC and its talented roster of professionals to the CIFC family,” Steve Vaccaro, CEO and chief investment officer of CIFC, said. “Direct lending is highly complementary to our existing lines of business, and LBC has distinguished itself at the forefront of the asset class due to its origination, disciplined underwriting and investment capabilities as well as extensive performance track record. Together, we will deliver to clients a broad range of investment solutions spanning different risk and liquidity profiles.
“Over the past six years, CIFC has taken important strategic steps to further strengthen, diversify and expand our credit platform across corporate, structured and opportunistic credit strategies. Partnering with LBC through this acquisition is a natural next step in our evolution as we seek to continue generating attractive returns for institutional investors across the entire credit spectrum.”
“CIFC has cemented its position as a world-class alternative credit manager globally and represents the ideal partner for LBC due to our strong cultural alignment and shared focus on fundamental credit, teamwork and collaboration,” John Brignola, senior managing partner of LBC, said. “This union will enable us to leverage our collective investment expertise, global IR and fundraising capabilities, robust technology platform and operational infrastructure to help accelerate our collective growth while deepening our relationships with investors worldwide. We look forward to harnessing the power of the CIFC platform to continue offering our sponsors and borrowers the flexible capital solutions required in today’s middle-market environment.”
