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Churchill Closes $382.2 Million CLO, First Under Ferguson’s TIAA

Churchill Closes $382.2 Million CLO, First Under Ferguson’s TIAA

(Bloomberg) -- Churchill Asset Management closed a $382.2 million collateralized loan obligation, the first since it was established by TIAA last year.

The CLO is comprised of middle-market loans and attracted capital from a range of institutional investors, Churchill said Thursday in a statement.

TIAA, the firm known for providing financial services and insurance to teachers, has been expanding in asset management and banking under Chief Executive Officer Roger Ferguson, a former Federal Reserve vice chairman. Ferguson started the lending venture last year by adding Carlyle Group LP veterans Kenneth Kencel, Randy Schwimmer and George Kurteson.
CLOs can bundle loans used to back buyouts.

“As investors in middle-market loans increasingly turn to large, well-capitalized lenders for new investment opportunities, we will leverage the support of TIAA Global Asset Management, our industry relationships and our rigorous underwriting process to build on that legacy,” Kencel said in the statement.

TIAA is rated AA+ by S&P Global Ratings and has no publicly traded stock. Ferguson has been expanding the firm’s capabilities, striking a deal in August to buy EverBank Financial Corp., which will build an online-banking presence for TIAA.

Kencel, Schwimmer and Kurteson came to Washington-based Carlyle when it bought middle-market lender Churchill Financial in November 2011. The TIAA operation focuses on originating and underwriting middle-market senior secured loans, and has about $1.8 billion of committed capital under management, according to the statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Katherine Chiglinsky in New York at kchiglinsky@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dan Kraut at dkraut2@bloomberg.net, Dan Reichl