Sector developments and company hires

Strategic partnership to boost CLO platform
TCW has entered into a strategic partnership with Lakemore Partners, with the aim of supporting the growth of TCW’s CLO platform. Lakemore primarily invests in super-majority control CLO equity.

Under the agreement, Lakemore will make a material equity investment in the TCW CLO platform, providing equity for the issuance of multiple CLOs over the next several years. Through this investment, Lakemore will gain preferred access to the TCW CLO platform and its pipeline of new issue CLO transactions, providing enhanced certainty of execution and a path towards significant CLO platform growth.

In other news…

EMEA
Aaron Scott has joined Dechert as a partner in its global finance practice, based in London. Scott specialises in structured finance, with a focus on CLOs. He trained and worked as a lawyer in New Zealand, before moving to London, where - prior to joining Dechert - he was an associate in the structured finance practice of Paul Hastings.

Moody’s has promoted EMEA structured finance associate md Michelangelo Margaria to Italy country head, based in Milan. He joined the rating agency as svp in March 2002, having previously been a credit structurer at UBS.

Law firm TLT has further expanded its national structured finance practice with the appointment of Steve Downey as a partner, based in London, following the appointment in December of fellow partner Mark Thomas. Bringing the number of partners in the team to seven, these latest appointments form part of the firm’s strategic plans to continue growing its UK-wide banking and structured finance offering. 
Downey joins TLT from Squire Patton Boggs, where he was a legal director. He has over 15 years’ experience working as a City lawyer, including at DLA Piper and Sidley Austin. 
Thomas, who co-heads TLT’s structured finance team alongside Rich Hughes, was formerly head of structured finance at Squire Patton Boggs and worked at Addleshaw Goddard before that. 

VdA Vieira de Almeida has promoted NPL ABS lawyer Sebastião Nogueira to managing associate within the banking and finance department. Based in Lisbon, he was previously senior associate at the firm, which he joined in September 2013.

North America
Miroslav Visic has joined Canada Life as director, global assets structuring, with a focus on CLOs and CFOs. Based in New York, he was previously head of structured credit with the Gulf Credit Opportunities Fund and before that, worked at Guggenheim Partners, Mizuho, Deutsche Bank, Deloitte & Touche and Fitch.