(Bloomberg) — Arini Capital Management, which has been beset with losses this month, has gotten bids on some of its high-yield debt holdings from asset managers including Pacific Investment Management Co. and Oaktree Capital Management, according to people familiar with the matter.
London-based Arini, founded by Hamza Lemssouguer, has already sold some of its positions in large speculative-grade companies and dealers are holding talks with prospective buyers about offloading more, some of the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.
Arini has been primarily looking to sell some of its most liquid and performing assets as a way to manage its portfolio and raise cash, with the debt of Sabre Corp. a recent example, the people said. Still, many of the discussions are preliminary, and there’s no guarantee they will lead to deals, the people added.
Representatives for Pimco and Oaktree declined to comment. An Arini spokesperson wasn’t available for comment.
Arini’s flagship hedge fund, which managed $7.5 billion as of July, is down about 26% this year through Oct. 23 as credit markets buckle under the pressure of rising global interest rates, higher energy prices and threats from artificial intelligence. It has never lost money on an annual basis.
It’s been a remarkable turn for Lemssouguer, 36, who was a star trader at Credit Suisse and continued to produce stellar returns at Arini by purchasing the relatively illiquid debt of large firms with lower credit ratings. For years it has been one of the fastest-growing hedge funds in Europe, becoming a $21.7 billion credit-trading giant after starting out at $1 billion in 2022.
In addition to shopping around its existing holdings, Arini has been drawing money from investors. It announced earlier this month that it gathered $1.5 billion in new cash, with more than $400 million already allocated.
Arini’s flagship fund is open to raising additional money from existing investors, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter.
–With assistance from Donal Griffin.
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