FT Lex : It’s time for private credit’s spring cleaning

It’s time for private credit’s spring cleaning
Business development companies face the perils of trying to set valuation marks amid market turmoil

Does hope spring eternal? For those who think that the private credit meltdown may have gone too far, April presents an interesting moment. The publicly traded version of these lenders, known as business development companies, will soon be releasing their updated “marks” — or the value that they ascribe to their loan books — as of March 31.

Investors have little faith in the old ones. A recent analysis from Moody’s shows that 16 out of 20 BDCs trade at discounts to their net asset value as of the end of 2025. It may be just a timing issue, in which case NAVs will soon be marked down sharply. Alternatively, the sell-off could be overdone, allowing investors to buy in cheaply and capitalise on the overcorrection.



NAV discounts are a serious problem for listed BDCs as they in effect prevent them from selling new shares. No one would buy fresh equity at the value on the books when they could simply acquire shares in the market at a discount.

That’s one reason why asset managers have turned to the private BDC structure. Investors in vehicles such as Blackstone’s $70bn BCRED fund both buy in and sell at NAV, with the sponsor funding those sale transactions.

Moody’s calculates that 60 per cent of total private credit assets are tied up in private vehicles, which come with considerable advantages for the managers themselves. New inflows can be used to meet redemptions and make more loans. And there is no quirky disconnect between trading values and NAV as seen in public BDCs.

But the trouble, there, is that redemptions are limited to 5 per cent per quarter, typically. And investors appear no more confident on private vehicle marks than they are on those of publicly listed ones, as redemption requests of more than $20bn in the most recent quarter suggest. Only a fraction of those were honoured.

Efforts to offer investors in private BDCs liquidity have involved asking them to take a haircut on the mooted asset value. That was what sunk Blue Owl’s attempt to merge a private BDC with its public counterpart. Most recently, hedge fund manager Boaz Weinstein offered to purchase shares in the private Blue Owl BDCs that had restricted redemptions at discounts of 20 to 35 per cent. The choice, for holders, was to wait for their requests to be met by Blue Owl itself at par at a future date, or settle for a lesser amount today.

Jitters in the sector are understandable. Software companies are facing high leverage and AI obsolescence. Deals from a low interest rate era may not survive a stricter environment. Public and private BDCs each will face the perils of trying to set valuation marks amid this turmoil. Grabbing a bird in hand may be tempting when it’s hard to say what is waiting in the bush, a dilemma confronting shareholders in each type of BDC.

Reuters: Citi CIO survey flags slowing IT spend as big projects face delays


Citi CIO survey flags slowing IT spend as big projects face delays - Reuters News

Sentiment:
Mostly Negative

  09 Apr 2026 05:10:57 PM

Open in LSEG Workspace

MILAN, April 9 (Reuters) - Information technology budget growth is set to slow to 2.6% over the next 12 months from 3.3% in December with macro uncertainty possibly leading to delays in big projects, according to the latest Citi quarterly survey of chief information officers, published on Thursday.

The decline has been driven by U.S. budget growth moderation, while EMEA improved compared to the previous survey, though 68% of European CIOs stated macro conditions have deteriorated.

"CIOs investment priorities are largely unchanged, still we take note of moderation in priority for financial software and customer facing projects – possibly on some pause in decision making," Citi analysts said in a note to clients.

  • Macro volatility shifts focus during earnings season on deal dynamics and assumptions embedded in company outlooks

  • Near-term deal slippage risk is higher for SAP SAPG.DE and Dassault DAST.PA as big deals face longer decision cycles

  • Sage SGE.L and Nemetschek NEKG.DE should be relatively more resilient

  • Prolonged uncertainty could weigh on Capgemini CAPP.PA growth recovery given its later-cyclical exposure

FT : Canada pushes to join UK-Italy-Japan advanced fighter jet project

Canada pushes to join UK-Italy-Japan advanced fighter jet project
Ottawa lobbying for GCAP admission as ‘observer’ in bid to distance itself from Trump’s US

Canada is lobbying to be admitted to the UK, Italy and Japan’s joint advanced fighter jet development programme, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Canada wants to participate in the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) as an “observer”, the people said, in its latest attempt to distance itself from the US and strengthen ties with other trading partners.

A Canadian government official told the FT that Ottawa’s efforts were part of its attempts to “diversify defence procurement and grow partnership with like-minded allies”. A formal request had been sent to the UK and letters to Japan and Italy would follow shortly, the official said.

Observer status would grant Ottawa access to certain confidential project information while it considered whether to participate as a buyer or joint development partner at a later stage, the people said.

The country’s entrance to the programme could be decided at a meeting in July. Officials familiar with the project said Canada’s admission was “highly likely” to be agreed, but that there had previously been division among the original trio over expanding the group.

Canada’s lobbying efforts come as the progress of GCAP has stumbled over concerns about UK funding amid delays to the country’s long-term defence spending strategy.

Officials in Tokyo and London said the “observer status” role had been devised to create a pathway into the multibillion-dollar GCAP for other nations that avoided a complicated and time-consuming process of expanding the core trio of Japan, UK and Italy. The programme is targeting first delivery in 2035.

GCAP was established in 2022 by the three nations in an effort to reduce their reliance on the US for F-35 fighters and strengthen sovereign control over technologies used in advanced aerial warfare systems.

Last week the three partner nations signed a £686mn contract for key engineering and design work with Edgewing, an industrial consortium consisting of national defence contractors, that runs to the end of June. The deal represented the funding dispensed by the trilateral entity.

This funding is a stopgap measure to give the UK time to deliver its 10-year defence investment plan before a larger, longer-term injection into Edgewing.

Two officials described Canada as “uncommitted at this stage” as either a buyer or a joint developer, but said it was interested for geopolitical reasons in a non-US project.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has spearheaded plans for Ottawa to boost defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035, the country’s biggest postwar military build-up, as US President Donald Trump upends an increasingly uncertain global security landscape.

Canada will take possession of 16 US-built F-35s over the coming years, but Carney has ordered a review on purchasing the remaining 72 due to tensions with the Trump administration.

Japanese officials have been reluctant to add partners to GCAP because of fears of additional delays. People familiar with the project said that the 2035 deadline would “in all likelihood” be missed.

But one person with knowledge of the project said that as finacing issues and overruns become inevitable, the core trio would probably need to introduce at least six additional partners.

Other countries including Australia, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, Germany and others have been named by officials from the core trio as potentially interested in joining as buyers or in the development of the jet itself. Other programmes were also of interest to the countries, such as those for drones and training aircraft.

A UK defence ministry spokesperson said Britain, Japan and Italy “remain open” to other partners joining GCAP “while keeping on track with the programme schedule and delivering our future military capabilities”.

Japan’s defence ministry declined to comment about Canada’s potential involvement but said that “generally speaking, GCAP has been designed with our allies and parties at its very heart”.

FT : EU boosts imports of Russian gas as Middle East crisis squeezes supplies

EU boosts imports of Russian gas as Middle East crisis squeezes supplies
The bloc took 97% of the cargoes from the vast Yamal LNG project in Siberia in the first three months of year

Europe boosted imports from Russia’s flagship liquefied natural gas project in the first three months of the year, as the Middle East conflict puts pressure on global supplies.

Imports from the Yamal LNG project in Siberia increased by 17 per cent to 5mn tonnes in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2025, according to data from energy research group Kpler.

This led to EU member states spending an estimated €2.88bn on gas from the vast plant, according to estimates by environmental non-profit organisation Urgewald.

The findings come as supplies of Qatari LNG have dried up following damage to energy infrastructure in the Middle East and Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz waterway. They suggest the Yamal project has profited from the surge in gas prices linked to the Middle East crisis.

Despite the hit to global supplies, however, Brussels has shown little appetite to revisit its planned ban on Russian LNG imports, due to take force in January 2027. A ban on imports under short-term contracts has already come into effect.

Yamal accounts for the vast majority of Russian LNG imports to the EU. The bloc took 69 — or 97 per cent — of the 71 cargoes from Yamal in the first three months of the year, with 25 of these received in March, more than in each of January and February.

This compared to 87 per cent of 68 cargoes during the same period in 2025. Remaining cargoes were routed to Asia.

The drop in cargoes shipped to Asia this year is partly driven by an EU ban that took effect last year that prevents the transfer of Russian LNG between vessels. It also stops ships from mooring at ports in the bloc before taking cargoes on to non-EU countries. Asian demand for Russian LNG was also relatively low prior to the Iran crisis.

But the 5mn tonnes of natural gas delivered to Europe in the first three months shows there is “no appetite from European buyers to stop buying Russian LNG”, said Sebastian Rötters, a campaigner at Urgewald. Of the 5mn, 1.8mn was delivered in March, according to the Kpler data.

The estimated increase in EU spending on Russian LNG in the first quarter is based on a sharp rise in gas prices last month. European gas prices averaged around €52.87 per megawatt-hour (MWh) in March compared to €35/MWh in January and February.


While details of the Yamal contracts are not known, people familiar with the project have said that prices under long-term agreements have a degree of flexibility and rise in times of high energy prices.

The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Commission data for 2026 shows that more than two-thirds of the LNG imported to the bloc to date has come from the US, indicating the highest level of dependency on American supplies to date. 

However, average gas storage levels across the bloc remain below normal averages ahead of the key summer refilling season.

EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen last month defended the EU’s upcoming ban on Russian LNG, saying it would be “a mistake for us to repeat what we did in the past”, referring to the bloc’s heavy dependence on pipeline supplies from Russia before the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Should Brussels continue with its planned ban, however, the Kpler data indicates that Yamal would struggle to find other takers for its production, Rotters argued.

“All the numbers show a dependency of Russia on the European market,” he said.

FT : Investors sought to pull $20bn from private credit funds in first quarter

Investors sought to pull $20bn from private credit funds in first quarter
Big groups including Apollo, Ares and Blackstone were hit with redemption requests at start of 2026

Wealthy investors attempted to pull more than $20bn from private credit funds in the first quarter, underscoring the growing strain on an asset class that had boomed into a dominant force on Wall Street.

The $20.8bn in redemption requests hit huge groups in the sector, including Apollo Global Management, Ares Management, Blackstone, Blue Owl and KKR, according to FT calculations.

The funds tracked by the FT, which collectively manage investment portfolios worth about $300bn, have honoured just over half of the redemption requests they received. Many investors have been forced to wait until a redemption window opens up later this quarter to exit.

The withdrawals reflect intensifying concerns over the private credit industry’s lending to private equity-backed software companies and the uncertainty those businesses face as AI rapidly advances.

It also comes as investors fret over ageing leveraged buyouts that PE firms have struggled to exit, deals that have largely been financed by private credit.

Greg Obenshain, director of credit at Verdad Advisers, said investor flight was often the “first chapter in most credit cycles”.

“Flows are the forward indicator of distress both because they reflect future expectations of trouble and because they help reveal the distress,” he added.


The private credit industry has grown briskly since the 2008 financial crisis, when regulators curbed how much risk big banks can take. Asset managers stepped into the void, providing ever larger cheques to the buyout industry and drew in investment from pension funds and endowments enticed by juicy returns marketed on funds.

More recently, private credit managers have also targeted affluent individual investors who they had viewed as a key growth market. Unlike their institutional counterparts that make decisions over long time horizons, retail investors tend to be more fickle and have bristled at the redemption limits on most private credit vehicles.

Executives across the industry have taken different strategies as redemption requests have swelled. Some, including Blackstone and Oaktree, have honoured withdrawals even when they have surpassed a 5 per cent threshold that would allow them to restrict outflows.

Others, such as BlackRock’s HPS Investment Partners, Apollo, Ares, Blue Owl and Morgan Stanley, have limited redemptions, arguing that the caps protect investors choosing to remain in the funds and prevent any fire sale of assets.

Managers have also noted that they are not seeing a deterioration in the loans they have underwritten, with Blue Owl co-president Craig Packer telling investors in one of the firm’s funds that there was a “meaningful disconnect between the public dialogue on private credit and the underlying trends in our portfolio”.


Both Blackstone and Apollo, meanwhile, have launched their own public relations campaigns to help counter the negative narrative around the downturn private credit is facing.

But some analysts on Wall Street believe that private credit will come under more acute pressure if there is a broader market downturn.

Morgan Stanley expects the industry’s default rate to rise to 8 per cent over the next year from 5 per cent currently, given its high exposure to software companies.

Daniel Fannon, an analyst at Jefferies, added, “though managers have consistently asserted that their portfolios do not have underlying credit issues, this has not dissuaded retail investors from lining up to get their money back”.

Despite the race to the exits, the caps managers have put on withdrawals has meant that many funds have continued to grow in size.

Investment bank RA Stanger estimates the industry raised $3.5bn in non-traded business development companies, popular private credit investment vehicles, in January and February, with billions of dollars more flowing into interval funds.

Still, the recent exodus from the industry has drawn the scrutiny of the Federal Reserve and Treasury department.

Earlier this week, JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon warned that losses for lenders to highly indebted companies will be higher than many expect as a result of weakening lending standards.

Analysts at credit rating agency Moody’s this week also downgraded their outlook for the private credit industry, citing the “increased redemption pressures” funds were facing.

>>> US After Hours Summary: SLP +12.5% higher on earnings; CARS +2.2% on cost re

After Hours Summary: SLP +12.5% higher on earnings; CARS +2.2% on cost reduction program and guidance; TGLS -9.9% lower on guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: SLP +12.5%, CARS +2.2% (also provides update, $90 mln share buyback auth increase; reaffirms guidance for Q1 and FY26; initiates cost reduction program, which includes 11% workforce reduction)

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: ANTX +1.3% (files for $300 mln share offering; also files for offering by selling shareholders), SYK +1.2% (provides update on cybersecurity incident; had a material impact on Q1 financials but little impact on FY26 guidance), VG +0.6% (discloses LNG cargos and recognized revenue for Q1), RKLB +0.6% (signs multi-launch deal with Institute for Q-shu), SMCI +0.4% (announces Gold Series enterprise server solutions), EBS +0.4% (partners with B.C. Provincial Health to supply NARCAN Nasal Spray), MSFT +0.1% (OpenAI says it holds a computing edge over Anthropic, according to Bloomberg)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: TGLS -9.9%, WDFC -0.7%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: NMG -12.4% (US$297 mln equity financing package), HSDT -1.1% (names new COO), COP -1% (sent team to Venezuela to evaluate oil prospects, according to Bloomberg), DGXX -0.4% (files for $750 mln mixed securities shelf offering), EOG -0.4% (updates Q1 tax expense), COHR -0.1% (announces advancements in its silicon carbide epitaxy capabilities)

Reuters : Hormuz at near standstill as Iran warns ships to keep to its waters

Hormuz at near standstill as Iran warns ships to keep to its waters

  • IRGC wants ships to pass near Iranian island, Tasnim reports
  • Traffic well below 10% of normal volumes
  • Awaiting guidance on safety, Mitsui shipping boss says

LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned ships to keep to a route passing through its territorial waters when crossing the Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz as traffic ​on Thursday remained well below 10% of normal volumes.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (9104.T), opens new tab, one of Japan’s big three shipping firms, is among those caught up in the confusion as ‌firms try to work out what impact the U.S.-Iran two-week ceasefire is having.

"It must be confirmed that the safety risks are sufficiently low," President and CEO Jotaro Tamura told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
The company has recently managed to bring three tankers – one loaded with liquefied natural gas and two with cooking gas liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) out of the strait.
Tamura said the company was awaiting guidance from the Japanese government ​on how to proceed under the two-week ceasefire.
LARAK ROUTE
The IRGC wants vessels to sail through Iranian waters around Larak Island in order to avoid the risk of naval ​mines in the usual lanes through the strait, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.

Vessels are to enter the strait north ⁠of Larak Island and exit just south of it until further notice in coordination with the IRGC's navy, Tasnim quoted the IRGC as saying.
"There is to be a realistic possibility of continued risk ​to unauthorised Strait of Hormuz transits as well as to Israel- and US- affiliated shipping attempting to transit," British maritime security company Ambrey said in an advisory.
"Even shipping with apparent approval ​has been turned back in recent weeks mid-transit," it said.
LITTLE TRAFFIC
Just six ships had passed through the strait in the past 24 hours, versus about 140 normally, ship-tracking data showed on Thursday.
They included one oil products tanker and five dry bulk carriers, data from Kpler, Lloyd’s List Intelligence and Signal Ocean showed.
A chemical tanker was set to cross destined for India, ship-tracking data on the MarineTraffic and Pole ​Star Global platforms showed on Thursday.

"Most shipping lines are likely to remain cautious, and two weeks will not be enough to clear the backlog even if there is ​a marked increase in traffic," said Torbjorn Soltvedt at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
More than 180 tankers carrying approximately 172 million barrels of crude oil and refined products remain stranded in the ‌Gulf, according ⁠to ship tracker Kpler.
TOLL SYSTEM?
Media reports have suggested that Iran might want to charge a toll for ships passing through, some pinning the figure at $2 million, and ship-tracking data has shown some vessels such as the Indian-flagged Pine Gas LPG tanker are already taking the unusual route around Larak Island.
The chief officer of the Pine Gas, Sohan Lal, told Reuters they did not pay Iran a “toll” to transit and their vessel was not boarded by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps when they exited the Gulf taking that route.

Western leaders have pushed back on any fees being imposed ​by Iran on ships sailing through Hormuz.
The Strait ​of Hormuz is shut and Iran ⁠must open it without conditions, the CEO of UAE state oil giant ADNOC said on Thursday.
INDIA EASES RULES
With a view to speeding delivery of energy supplies from the Gulf, India recently granted waivers to allow two Iranian cargoes aboard an older tanker and another under international sanctions ​to enter its ports, two officials familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The world's No.2 importer of LPG used for cooking, ​India is facing its ⁠worst gas crisis in decades, with the government introducing rationing to ensure households are supplied.
IRAN'S OWN SHIPS
The United States issued a surprise temporary waiver on Iranian oil exports last month which is due to end on April 19 in a bid to support global supply and ease fuel price rises.
Oil prices have risen by about 50% since the Iran war began on Feb 28 with the ⁠U.S. national average ​retail gasoline price recently topping $4 a gallon for the first time in more than three years.
One Iranian-flagged oil tanker and one bunkering tanker ​have sailed through the strait in the past 24 hours, according to analysis from Charlie Brown, senior adviser at U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitors Iran-related tanker traffic.
Since Feb 28, at least 23 Iranian-flagged ​tankers have reached Asia, keeping up their pace from pre-war levels, Brown said.

FT : Adidas set to lose Champions League match ball contract to Nike after 25 ye

Adidas set to lose Champions League match ball contract to Nike after 25 years
Deal for top three competitions is expected to rise sharply from current value and could exceed €40mn a year

Nike is set to win the race to manufacture and sponsor the match ball for the Uefa Champions League, the elite football tournament in Europe, in a blow to longtime supplier Adidas.

The US sportswear group has entered exclusive talks to become the official match ball provider for all Uefa men’s club competitions, including the second and third-tier Europa League and Conference League, according to the organisers.

UC3, the partnership between European football governing body Uefa and the region’s top clubs, said on Thursday it had chosen to negotiate exclusively for Nike to become the match ball provider from 2027 to 2031.

The value of the deal across the competitions is expected to rise substantially and could roughly double to more than €40mn a year, according to a person with knowledge of the process. Nike and Adidas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Adidas has held the rights to provide the Champions League match ball since 2001 and is known for producing the iconic “starball” design that has become synonymous with the Champions League.

Retailer Decathlon is the current match ball provider for the Europa League and Conference League.

Relevent Football Partners, the sports media, sponsorship and licensing company, led the tender process on behalf of UC3. The agency, which is led by executive chair Daniel Sillman and chief executive Boris Gartner, last year won the right to manage the commercial rights for the Uefa men’s club competitions between 2027 and 2033.

Relevent, which is part of US real estate and sports tycoon Stephen Ross’s portfolio of companies, has shaken up Uefa’s sponsorship approach since taking on the mandate.

Anheuser-Busch InBev last year entered the exclusive talks to replace Heineken as global beer partner to the Uefa men’s football competitions, including the Champions League.

Relevent also led the process in which Paramount Skydance was selected as preferred bidder for the Champions League in the UK and Germany from 2027-31. Paramount’s arrival was a major driver as UC3 secured €2.5bn a season for the media rights across the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, up from about €2bn in the current arrangements.

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
  • SMPL -15.3%, NEOG -6.4%, INFQ -2.4%, PSMT -1.7%, APLD -1.2%, STZ -1.2%, BKE -0.8% (March comps)
Other news:
  • NUAI -13.8% (commences stock offering)
  • MGNX -4.1% (FDA removes partial clinical hold on study of lorigerlimab)
  • RXST -3.8% (highlights 300,000 light adjustable lens implant milestone)
  • AEHR -2.8% (enters equity distribution agreement, may offer up to $60 mln of common stock)
  • BTI -2.3% (appoints Dragos Constantinescu as CFO)
  • ASRT -2.2% (to be acquired by Garda Therapeutics for $18/sh)
  • ZYME -2% (announces additional leadership appointments to advance next phase of growth)
  • INTC -1.8% (repurchased 49% interest from Apollo-managed funds in joint venture related to Intel's Fab 34 in Ireland)
  • USAR -1.8% (forms strategic partnership with Carester to build European rare earth platform)
  • HURA -1.7% (files prospectus supplement relating to sales agreement; may offer up to $50 mln of common stock)
  • FRHC -1.4% (announces that it is considering an offering of its common stock in Kazakhstan)
  • CMRC -1.1% (rejects Rezolve AI bid, citing significant undervaluation)
  • ULH -1% (names new CFO)