Corinthia/Barings poaching scandal: Two months on
It has been almost two months since Corinthia Global Management poached a number of fund managers from the global private finance division of Barings’ private credit team, in what was subsequently called “one of the largest corporate raids at an asset manager in years”.
The move sent shockwaves across the industry, and caused Barings to temporarily pause certain private market vehicles while it worked out its next move.
Within a week of the news being announced, Bloomberg was reporting that private credit giants including Ares Management, Carlyle, Hayfin and KKR were looking for opportunities in Barings’ loan book, and approaching buyout firms to see if they would like to take Barings out of the capital structure of their portfolio companies.
Barings went on to file a lawsuit against Nomura-backed Corinthia.
In March, a US court granted Barings an injunction against Corinthia, which required all former staff to return any confidential information relating to Barings’ business.
Additionally, Barings has taken legal action against its former employees Ian Fowler and Kelsey Tucker, who have been accused of misusing confidential information to recruit Barings employees. Fowler is now co-head of global private finance at Corinthia, while Tucker is the firm’s chief operating officer.
Corinthia formally launched its operations on 15 March 2024, with the aim of generating “attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors by investing in private debt instruments while offering flexible financing for borrowers.”
Read more: Barings pauses new private credit deals amid Corinthia lawsuit
Meanwhile, since the exodus of its private credit team, Barings has been focused on rebuilding.
In early April, the company told investors that it plans to hire six new managing directors in North America and Europe to work on loan origination, according to Bloomberg sources. It is also believed to be hiring for two positions in portfolio monitoring. It has made a number of internal promotions to fill some of the vacated roles in its global private finance division, which has approximately $33bn (£26.5bn) in assets under management.
A new permanent investment committee has also been created, covering three key regions: North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
