Tough times for distressed credit funds?

February 23, 2009 — 9:24am ET | By Jim Kim

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Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Hedge Funds
Defensive Purposes
debt
Private Equity
Opportunities Fund
Oaktree Capital Management
Leveraged Buyout
Lehman Brothers

There was a time, not too long ago when hedge funds, private equity funds and others were scrambling to set up funds to invest in debts that were used to help finance leveraged buyouts. At the time, they were selling at significant discounts, and many thought they would inevitably soar in value. Among the players: TPG, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Oaktree Capital Management, BlackRock Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings.

TheDeal.com notes that most of these funds were leveraged. For example, the $3 billion Lehman Brothers Opportunity Fund was "levered at approximately 3.5 times, using more than $670 million in equity." A few hedge funds, notably Canyon Special Opportunities Fund and GoldenTree Credit Opportunities Fund, ended up asking investors for additional commitments in order to meet margin calls--ouch. TheDeal.com reports TPG has raised an additional $300 million for a $1 billion fund for purely defensive purposes, certainly not to meet a margin call; not yet anyway.

For more:
- here's the article from TheDeal.com