Antares Capital Closes $450M BLS CLO, Hires Three Execs

Antares Capital, a Chicago-based alternative assets manager with $64 billion under management, closed its debut broadly syndicated loan (BSL) collateralized loan obligation totaling $450 million.

Orion CLO 2023-1, which is designed to comply with European risk retention regulations, represents an innovative approach for a firm with a history of managing private credit CLOs. Antares managed approximately $12 billion in assets across 12 private credit CLOs as of 30 June.

“Issuing this CLO is a natural extension of our expertise and growth as an alternative asset manager, and its success is a testament to the firm’s standing with investors and the deep credit expertise that is a hallmark of the Antares brand,” said Vivek Mathew, Antares head of asset management.

The CLO offering follows three new hires to the firm’s New York-based liquid credit team. New managing directors include Rob Davis, Amy Ecker and Jonathan Rogers.

Davis joins after a decade at Alcentra, where he most recently was a managing director overseeing investments in the loans and bonds of corporate borrowers across several sectors.

Ecker joins from HPS Investment Partners, where she was responsible for investments in the loans and bonds of corporate borrowers across several sectors.

Rogers, meanwhile, has focused on developing detailed financial models of broadly syndicated loan issuers, most recently at LoansIntel.