Sector developments and company hires

Arrow closes second credit opps fund 
Arrow Global Group has held a final close for its second credit opportunities fund - ACO II – at a hard cap of €2.75bn, surpassing its target of €2.5bn. The strategy focuses on the European non-performing loan market and attracted commitments from institutional investors spanning Europe, the US, the APAC region and the Middle East.

At the time of the predecessor fund’s €1.7bn final close in 2020, Arrow said the number of attractive NPL opportunities had "increased substantially as a result of the economic dislocation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic". The firm has a local presence in multiple geographies, which it says enables it to primarily focus on off-market deals.

Around 90% of the ACO II portfolio is secured against real estate, cash in court or other mixed securities, the firm says.

In other news…

Finance and real estate co-chair named
Dechert has appointed Charlotte-based partner John Timperio as co-chair of its finance and real estate practice group, alongside Laura Swihart. He replaces David Forti in the role, who will take over as co-chair of the wider firm, alongside Mark Thierfelder in June.

Timperio is the first person from the firm’s structured credit and CLO team to co-lead the finance and real estate practice, which comprises roughly 200 attorneys in over 14 offices across five countries. Dechert says the move is driven by its recent expansion in the structured credit space, in addition to future plans to expand into the private debt market.