Westmoreland Capital Management is prepping its first ever collateralized debt obligation. It should price in the first quarter, according to a CDO market participant. The firm is a brand new CDO shop based in Richmond, Va. It was created last year by several senior CDO bankers from J.P. Morgan Securities, Prudential Securities and First Union Capital Markets. Carter Rise, founding partner, reached at the firm's New York office, declined to comment.
Wachovia Securities is underwriting the $1 billion investment-grade managed CDO deal, says the market official. He says market participants believe Westmoreland plans to launch a second deal in the second half of the year. It will be a multi-sector asset-backed securities CDO, he says. Calls to Tom Wickwire, the head of Wachovia's credit structured product group in Charlotte, were not returned.