Collateralized fund obligation issuance hit a high over the past six weeks with the close of three deals. The first quarter's tally is especially surprising considering only about three large public deals were rated out of Moody's Investors Service's New York office all last year, said Gary Witt, managing director and head of structured credit product development. CFOs are backed by revenues from a diversified pool of hedge funds.
The EUR300 million (USD360.8 million) Phénix CFO closed Feb. 10, while the EUR500 million euro (USD601.4 million) SVG Diamond Private Equity II closed later that month. Also, the USD600 million Coast CFO 2006-1 closed this week. Witt said the recent spate of deals could be attributed to coincidence, but noted the increase reflects the growing number of hedge funds.
