Churchill Asset Management, an investment specialist of Nuveen, closed a $400 million middle market collateralized loan obligation ("CLO"), Churchill MMSLF CLO III, on January 24, 2024.

The CLO was structured in connection with Churchill’s co-investment partnership with Mubadala Investment Company - which exceeds $1 billion in size - and has helped to diversify the financing structure for the partnership. The transaction represents the third CLO that Churchill priced in 2023 and the eighth outstanding CLO under management, bringing CLO assets under management to approximately $3.5 billion.

"We are pleased to build upon Churchill’s 17-year track record as a leading middle market asset manager with the successful closing of this transaction," said Kelli Marti, Churchill’s Head of CLO Management. "Both the outstanding support from new and existing investors as well as the competitive pricing achieved were a testament to investor confidence in our time-tested investment approach and CLO management expertise. We look forward to continuing to build on this momentum and already have a robust 2024 pipeline across our CLO platform and broader private capital business."

Fabrizio Bocciardi, Head of Credit Investments, Mubadala, said: "The CLO market offers a compelling alternative to finance diversified portfolios of middle market leveraged loans and is a natural expansion of our relationship with Churchill. We are a long-term investor in middle market leveraged loans and have invested in the asset class since 2009 as the opportunity generates attractive risk adjusted returns across credit cycles."

The CLO has a four-year reinvestment period and a collateral pool comprised of a diversified portfolio of senior secured loans, approximately 80% of which have been accumulated as of the closing date. The CLO’s capital structure includes six classes of notes rated AAA through BB- by Standard & Poor’s. Mubadala holds the majority of the CLO’s Subordinated Notes.

Wells Fargo served as the Administrative Agent and Arranger of the transaction.