In The News

Direct Lenders Weigh Impact of Aggressive EBITDA Add-Backs By David Brooke – Reuters PennantPark Founder and Managing Partner Art Penn was recently quoted in a Reuters article examining the growing prevalence of EBITDA add-backs and their impact on middle market lenders. “Some of the add-backs that are synergies are not as tangible and more of a hope that they will occur,” Art said. “They also won’t be immediate so it’s a lot harder for a...Continue Reading

Loans for Small and Medium-Sized Companies Rapidly Expanding in the U.S. Seeking High Yield via a Fund Structure by Momoe Ban – Nikkei Newspaper December 5th, 2019 Last month, PennantPark Founder and Managing Partner Art Penn discussed the growth of the private debt market in an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review, noting that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are seeking new opportunities for private debt to raise funds. Click here to see the full...Continue Reading

Private Credit Squeezes Leveraged Loan Market: November Wrap By Kelsey Butler – Bloomberg PennantPark Founder and Managing Partner Art Penn notes in a recent Bloomberg article that the quality of borrowers coming to the core middle market has improved recently, which is partially being driven by M&A and buyout activity.   The following story appeared on the Bloomberg Terminal.   Read the Full ArticleContinue Reading

PennantPark Founder and Managing Partner Art Penn attended the Private Debt Investor Seoul and Tokyo Forums last week and participated in multiple panels that evaluated how investors can find value in private credit and assessed the global factors impacting the private debt market. In both Tokyo and Seoul, Art provided an overview of the robust opportunities and strategies institutional investors can capitalize on to preserve capital and maximize performance throughout the current credit cycle and...Continue Reading

Two Roads Diverged in the CLO Wood By Charlie Dinning – Creditflux In November, Art Penn spoke with Creditflux about the effect regulation changes had on BDC managers’ choice to launch middle market CLOs. “After the rule change that allows BDCs to lever debt to equity at a 2:1 limit, middle market CLOs became an efficient financing tool for BDC managers,” he said.   Read the Full ArticleContinue Reading

PennantPark Founder and Managing Partner, Art Penn, participated in the Private Markets panel at the 17th Annual Global ARC conference last week. Art provided an overview on some of the credit-focused strategies that institutional investors can leverage during the current cycle. Art was joined on the panel by Gordon Bajnai of Campbell Lutyens, Theodore Koenig of Monroe Capital LLC, Jonathan Dorfman of Napier Park Global Capital, and Dan Sparks of Shelter Growth Capital Partners |...Continue Reading

Direct Lending Managers Fire Up ESG for Credit Funds By Tom Stabile – FundFire Direct lending managers are increasingly applying ESG criteria to their strategies. PennantPark adopted a formal ESG policy at the end of 2018 and Art Penn spoke with FundFire about the impact it has had in working with investors.   Read the Full ArticleContinue Reading

In September 2019, PennantPark issued its inaugural CLO, PennantPark CLO I. The $301.4 million vehicle is backed by a diversified portfolio of middle market loans, and has a four-year re-investment period. “I am extremely pleased with the pricing and structure of PennantPark’s inaugural collateralized loan obligation, which speaks volumes about our track record and the strength of our investment platform,” said Art Penn, Chief Executive Officer. “The maturity, reinvestment period and pricing of this financing...Continue Reading

ESG: Green Shoots Take Root in Private Debt  By James Harvey – HFM Week-Alt Credit In speaking with HFM Week, Art Penn explained that being willing to walk away is an essential part of ESG investing in private debt. “As a lender, you have most leverage over ESG factors at the start of the investment process, so it’s important to be thorough and ask the right questions,” he said. “We take the position that no...Continue Reading

In July 2019, PennantPark launched four new investment vehicles, increasing the firm’s investment capacity by more than $750 million across two strategies: Senior Debt and Opportunistic Credit. The new offerings include the PennantPark Senior Credit Fund (“PSCF”) Leveraged, PSCF Un-Leveraged, PennantPark Credit Opportunities Fund III (“PCOF III”), and a substantial separately managed account focused on Opportunistic Credit.   Read the full press release hereContinue Reading