Palmer Square weighs sale of $37bn credit management business

Palmer Square Capital Management, the Kansas-based credit investment firm founded and run by husband-and-wife team Chris and Angie Long, is exploring a potential sale of the business, according to a report by Bloomberg citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

The firm has hired advisers to manage the process, with potential buyers having submitted offers and a shortlist now being considered, the sources said. The discussions are confidential and may not result in a transaction.

Palmer Square has grown rapidly since Chris Long launched the firm in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, initially investing around $10m of his own capital. Angie Long joined the business several years later, before Palmer Square began managing collateralised loan obligations (CLOs) in 2013.

The firm now manages approximately $37bn in assets, with its CLO platform accounting for around $27bn, according to S&P Global Ratings. Its investment activities also include opportunistic credit, private credit and a publicly traded business development company.

CLOs have become an increasingly important part of the global leveraged finance market, offering asset managers a source of recurring fee income. The US CLO market has expanded to more than $1.3tn, roughly four times its size 15 years ago, creating significant scale for established platforms.

The Longs have deep roots in the credit markets. The couple met at Princeton University before joining JPMorgan, where Angie Long worked on the development of the bank’s credit derivatives business. She later became a managing director at the age of 29 and is now Palmer Square’s chief investment officer, while Chris Long serves as chairman and chief executive.