Credit Manager CIFC Pushes Into Direct Lending With LBC Purchase

CIFC Asset Management LLC, one of the biggest managers of collateralized-loan obligations in the U.S., has agreed to buy LBC Credit Partners to expand into the burgeoning private credit market.

With the acquisition, CIFC will enter into the business of direct middle-market loans and gain $3 billion of assets under management, CIFC said in a statement. LBC will become a subsidiary of CIFC and retain its strategy and senior management.

The private credit market has doubled in size over the past few years to about $1 trillion from around $500 million in 2015, according to data from research firm ...