Highland Capital Management has launched a new distressed debt/private equity fund and is shooting to raise north of $500 million, bankers said. Credit Suisse First Boston is the placement agent for the fund, bankers added. Highland officials and a CSFB spokeswoman declined to comment.
Highland has been a distressed loan investor for some years. In 2000, the Dallas-based firm raised the Highland Crusader Fund, a distressed fixed income hedge fund. Last year Restoration Funding, a distressed loan structured investment vehicle that is composed of distressed loans, was formed. Highland is one of the largest managers of leveraged loans with more than $8 billion in assets under management.