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Ex banker to boost EQT’s Credit Opportunities team

Suzana Peric has been brought in to assist origination efforts for the strategy, for which a €1.3bn fund was closed at the end of last year.

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EQT Credit has hired Suzana Peric as a director for its Credit Opportunities strategy, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Peric, who has a lot of banking experience, was previously executive director and head of EMEA loan distribution at Santander for eight years. Prior to that she was a member of the loan syndications teams at Natixis and HSH Nordbank.

The EQT Credit Opportunities strategy targets European mid-sized companies that are deemed to be operationally sound but which may face challenges created by excessive leverage. It covers stressed and distressed situations, bespoke capital solutions and balance sheet transformations.

Because of its wide remit, EQT believes it can source good opportunities regardless of wider market conditions.

The latest fund for the strategy, EQT Credit Opportunities III, announced a final close in December 2017 on €1.3 billion, beating its original target.

EQT Credit was formed in 2008 as the credit arm of global alternative investment firm EQT. As well as credit opportunities, the credit unit also has a senior debt strategy focused on syndicated LBO financings and a mid-market credit strategy targeting direct lending.