Tikehau Capital is expanding into the UK by taking over the European senior debt business of the UK entity of fellow French asset manager Lyxor.

Under the terms of the deal, Tikeau Investment Management (Tikehau IM), the asset management arm of Tikeau Capital, will replace Lyxor UK as the investment manager of the latter’s four European senior debt funds, with €700m in assets under management (AUM).

Lyxor UK’s European senior debt operational team will join Tikehau IM in London.

Lyxor will remain the management company of these funds and continue to provide second-level supervision of risks and valuation.

The deal will increase Tikehau Capital’s AUM to €9.8bn via a €700m boost to its leveraged loans and CLO business.

Mathieu Chabran, co-founder of Tikehau Capital and managing director at Tikehau IM said: “We are delighted to have signed this agreement with Lyxor, which allows us to expand in the UK and continue developing our expertise in leveraged loans and European credit markets.”

Lionel Paquin, chief executive at Lyxor, said: “This agreement plays to Lyxor’s well-recognised strengths for working in partnership with external asset managers, a field in which we have a nearly 20-year track record.

“By remaining the management company of the funds, Lyxor continues to accompany its clients.”

In other news, Investcorp is poised to acquire the debt management business of 3i (3iDM) from the UK’s 3i Group, which will more than double its AUM.

The alternative investment manager last year announced it was aiming to grow its AUM to $25bn (€23bn) in the medium term, and the acquisition of 3i’s debt management business will be a big step towards this, as it will increase Investcorp’s AUM by $12bn to $23bn. 

Investcorp already offers investment products across private equity, real estate and alternative investment solutions (formerly hedge funds).

The transaction with 3i is for a total of £222m (€249m) and is expected to close in the first half of 2017, subject to regulatory approvals.

It is largest strategic acquisition Investcorp has made and will be fully funded through the company’s existing balance sheet.

With 3iDM, Investcorp will have private and institutional clients spanning Europe, Asia, the US and the Arabian Gulf.