Lehman Brothers is underwriting a new collateralized loan obligation for Putnam Investments, according to market sources. Joseph Towell and Robert Piepenburg at Putnam did not return calls for comment. Mark Zusy, a managing director at Lehman, also did not return calls. There are several other loan deals that are also in the marketing phase with several CDO pros commenting that CDO issuance this year should be similar to 2003, in the $60 billion range. RBS Greenwich Capital is predicting that CLOs will be a quarter to one-third of that total. Other deals in the marketing phase include Centre Pacific's $280 million Olympic CLO (LMW, 1/5) and Highland Capital Management's Bristol Bay CLO that invests in pro rata loans (LMW 12/15). Reportedly, ING Capital is also eyeing a new CLO.
Putnam Looks To Expand Assets