Wayzata Advisors, a distressed fixed-income manager, is looking to raise another $250 million in assets and plans to hire up to eight professionals to help manage and market its funds, according to John Foley, principal and partner in Wayzata, Minn. The distressed buyer currently has $1.3 billion from eight accounts under management and is looking to raise the additional investments for its corporate debt fund next year, he said.
The fund focuses on debt investments in food, agricultural, energy, shipping and steel companies. It plans to focus more on investments in aircraft, aircraft engines, merchant power and distressed collateralized debt obligations, added Patrick Halloran, ceo. "Secondary trades in distressed CDOs is a big opportunity for us," Halloran emphasized. Wayzata, which was recently spun off from Cargill Financial Services through a management buyout, has provided an annual return of 20-25% over a 10-year period, according to Halloran. Wayzata also has an office in Boston.
The manager's investors are large institutions, high-net-worth individuals and a few top investment banks, Halloran said. The distressed fund largely focuses on North American and U.K. investments because of transparent bankruptcy laws, he noted.