ING Capital Management has issued debt in order to buy leveraged loans for its European collateralized loan obligation, Copernicus Euro CDO-II. ING can periodically issue notes up to two-and-half-years after the closing date of the transaction, which was earlier this year.
The supply in Europe is not as robust as it is in the U.S. so the periodic note issuance ensures ING is not sitting on uninvested cash, explained a source. Moody's Investors Service has assigned an Aa3 rating to the E31 million issuance. J.P. Morgan is the underwriting bank for the transaction. Simon Hood, who heads ING's European operation, did not return calls.
This is the second CLO from ING in Europe. The first deal, Copernicus Euro CDO-I, closed in July 2001.