Bloomberg reports that AllianceBernstein Holding raised $500 million and hired a team from a Barclays unit that was divested last year to start a middle-market lending business.

The investment-management firm hired five people, led by Brent Humphries, from the British bank to expand its alternative-assets business, according to Matthew Bass, chief operating officer of that group. The Bloomberg article notes investments will primarily be made in secured loans in middle-market companies with EBITDA of as much as $50 million, according to Humphries.

Jay Ramakrishnan, Patrick Fear, Shishir Agrawal and Wesley Raper are the other members joining Humphries from Barclays according to the Bloomberg article.

To view the entire Bloomberg article, click here.