TSL Express Daily News

Expands Obra’s Existing Capabilities in Structured Credit, and Asset and Mortgage-Backed Securities into Fundamental Credit Space

Acquisition Combines Obra’s Diversified Asset Management Strengths with KDP’s High Yield and Leveraged Loan Research and Asset Management Capabilities Across the Credit Ecosystem

Obra to Offer Expanded Product Suite Including CLOs and More Liquid Commingled Fund Vehicles

NEW YORK, July 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Obra Capital, Inc. (“Obra”), a specialized alternative asset management firm that provides investment products and solutions across insurance special situations, structured credit, asset-based finance, and longevity, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the assets of KDP, LLC and its affiliated companies (“KDP”). KDP is a leading independent asset management and investment research firm specializing in high-yield bonds and leveraged loans with a strong focus on rigorous, bottom-up credit analysis. Obra looks forward to welcoming KDP’s clients including industry-leading wealth managers, large public pension funds, and other leveraged finance investors.

“This is an exciting day for Obra as we complete the acquisition,” said Blair H. Wallace, President and Chief Executive Officer of Obra. “This transaction supports Obra’s expansion of our existing liquid markets capabilities in structured credit, and asset and mortgage-backed securities, into the fundamental credit space. By combining KDP’s established research with Obra’s diversified asset management capabilities, we expect to expand and augment our product suite to include the issuance of CLOs, where we are already an active investor, and more liquid commingled fund vehicles with a focus on fundamental credit to add to our existing structured and private strategies.”

“We appreciate Obra’s support and recognition of KDP’s business fundamentals and we look forward to becoming part of the Obra team,” said Kingman D. Penniman, President and Chief Executive Officer of KDP. “Obra’s specialized private markets transactions capabilities and structured product expertise are a natural fit with KDP’s extensive public high-yield and leveraged loan markets knowledge and experience. We look forward to integrating KDP’s leveraged finance research and consulting services and its proprietary forward-looking default risk and loan recovery rankings into Obra’s suite of leading investment products and solutions.”

Peter Polanskyj, Senior Managing Director and Head of Structured Credit at Obra, added, “Combining Obra’s sophisticated understanding of structured products and private markets spaces with the traditionally defensive approach and decades of experience that KDP brings to the leveraged finance markets, will allow us to offer differentiated products both in the CLO space as well as in other parts of the leveraged finance market. We believe this transaction will be increasingly impactful in a market that continues to present credit investors with a variety of challenges on a seemingly daily basis.”

About KDP
KDP Investment Advisors, Inc. was established in 1996 but its origins in providing buy-side research to many of the top investment management and investment banking firms date back to 1975 through its predecessor companies: Duff & Phelps Fixed Income Research, and McCarthy, Crisanti & Maffei (MCM), where Kingman and a team of analysts, some of who are still with KDP today, first established a reputation in fixed-income research. In June 1999, KDP Asset Management Inc. was established as the asset management arm of KDP, specializing in the management of high yield securities. The firm has a blue-chip client base of institutional entities.
KDP filed for bankruptcy court protection under Subchapter 5 of Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code, on May 21, 2023. Obra provided Debtor-in-Possession financing to the company and subsequently negotiated an Asset Purchase Agreement. As part of the transaction, it is expected that KDP’s team of seasoned industry and market analysts and portfolio managers, will join Obra. Obra also acquired KDP’s intellectual property and certain client and sub-advisory contracts. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

About Obra
Obra Capital, Inc. is a specialized alternative asset management firm that provides investment products and solutions across insurance special situations, structured credit, asset-based finance, and longevity. The firm aims to generate long-term value and attractive returns for investors through a variety of vertically integrated commingled funds and separate accounts. With capabilities in investing, originating, structuring, and servicing, Obra provides differentiated investment opportunities for investors globally. As of June 30, 2023, Obra Capital Management, LLC’s estimated unaudited amount of assets under management was approximately $4.1 billion. For more information about Obra, please visit www.obra.com.

Media Contact:
Dan Gagnier
Gagnier Communications
Obra@gagnierfc.com
+1 646 569 5897