Stamford, Conn.-based money manager Aladdin Capital Management plans to enter the CDO market in full force as it prepares its first two ABS CDOs in the coming months. Aladdin recently added three individuals to its newly built asset-backed and commercial mortgage-backed securities team as part of its effort to expand its game into the ABS and CMBS playing field.
Aladdin has a high-grade CDO and a mezzanine CDO in the works, said Anatoly Burman, one of three managing directors in the structured finance group. The high-grade deal, which is 80% ramped, will be marketed during the middle of June and should price by the beginning of July, he said. However, the mezzanine deal, which is only about 40% ramped, "is more likely an August deal," Burman said. Goldman Sachs will act as the underwriter for both of the transactions.
The underlying bonds for the deals have an average double-A rating for the high-grade CDO and triple-B for the mezzanine deal, noted Burman, adding that that the CDOs would be rated by Moody's Investors Service and Standards & Poor's. The deals are cash CDOs with synthetic components. In addition, collateral for the deals is made up primarily of U.S.-based real estate paper, with a mix of CMBS, CDO and CLO, said Burman.
In mid-May Aladdin announced the hire of three structured credit professionals, Nunzio Masone, Martin DeVito and Shirley Cho, from AIG Global Investment. Together, the group joined Burman, who was hired in February, to form Aladdin's new ABS and CMBS team. Masone, who was previously a senior portfolio manager at AIG, joined Aladdin as a managing director. DeVito also joined Aladdin as a managing director. Previously, he served as a senior CMBS portfolio manager at AIG. Cho joined as a research analyst and will support Burman, Masone and DeVito.
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