CarVal raises $1.2bn for second close of credit fund

Getting off to a good start for 2015, CarVal Investors reports that it has raised $1.24 billion for the second close of its CVI Credit Value Fund III, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on 6 January.

The fund is targeting $2 billion total and began raising money in the spring of last year. It held a first close in October at around $1 billion. The firm expects to raise the total amount in the middle of this year, according to a source familiar with CarVal's plans. 

The money is coming from onshore and offshore vehicles and includes both US and foreign investors. The distressed credit fund was set up to buy corporate bonds, loan portfolios and structured products in Western Europe and the US, according to a Bloomberg article in March last year. The predecessor CVI Credit Value Fund II raised $2.3 billion in August 2013.

The Hopkins, Minnesota-based firm is led by chief investment officer John Brice. CarVal was founded by Cargill in 1987 as an expansion of its proprietary and financial trading business. In 2006, CarVal became an independent subsidiary of Cargill.

The firm now manages about $10 billion and handles both hedge funds, private equity funds and other strategies. Its four main business lines are loan portfolios and structured credit, corporate securities and liquidations, real estate and special opportunities. In addition to its Minnesota headquarters, CarVal has offices in London, Luxembourg, New York, Paris and Singapore.