Hayfin in talks to sell US CLO unit

Hayfin is in active talks with buyers for its US CLO unit, Creditflux reported Friday, citing a source. The London credit platform is weighing two paths: sell the entire US arm, or sell only the CLO assets.

A full sale moves a going concern. An asset-only deal leaves Hayfin holding the rest of its US operation and asking what it is for. Creditflux did not name the buyers or a price.

The talks arrive as the CLO market's focus shifts to resets. On August 20, four managers priced US CLO resets. The prints came to nearly $2 billion, and the cost of capital they set is the benchmark for private credit funding. A seasoned CLO platform is the kind of input a consolidator would want.

For Hayfin, the question is whether the US CLO unit is core at all. If it is not, a full sale is the cleaner exit; an asset-only deal risks a stranded cost base. For a buyer, the prize is a seasoned CLO book in a market where reset economics have thinned. The eventual price will show whether the buyer is paying for the platform or for the paper. This publication has argued the reset wave is becoming private credit's funding architecture; a Hayfin sale would fit that view.