Maples Advises Lakemore Partners On Us$400m CLO Fund

The Maples Group was pleased to support Lakemore Partners ("Lakemore"), a leading private credit investment firm primarily investing in control CLO equity on behalf of global investors, on the Cayman Islands legal and fund administration aspects of its $400 million Aquatine IV fund. The fund, which successfully closed following strong investor demand, is one of the largest dedicated CLO control equity funds to close this year. 

Aquatine IV is the fourth CLO fund within the Aquatine platform, investing in control equity positions in U.S. CLOs. Institutional investors representing private banks, fund of funds, insurance companies, family offices and high net worth individuals all provided investment into the fund. Lakemore currently manages US$1.1 billion in credit assets under management, the majority of which is from institutional clients.

A team based in the Group's Dubai law firm advised Lakemore on this transaction and was led by Philip Ireland, Dubai office Joint Managing Partner, with assistance from David Garvin, a Funds & Investment Management Associate.  In addition, the Group's fund services team led by Fred Tabbal acted as administrators to the fund. 

Commenting on the closing, Philip Ireland said, "We are delighted to have had the opportunity to advise our longstanding client Lakemore Partners on this US$400 million CLO Fund.  As one of the largest CLO closes in the region this year, we are pleased to have played a part in such a significant deal."

Mohamed Seif, the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Lakemore, said, "The successful close of our Aquatine IV fund is an important milestone for Lakemore as we further strengthen our position as a global leader in CLO investments focused on delivering high risk-adjusted returns across market cycles".