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€1.38B of CLO Holdings Across 50 Managers Exposed to Stark Group Loan Selloff

Reporting: Chloe Wang
Loans issued by Stark Group, dba Winterfell, a Denmark-headquartered building materials distributor, experienced a sharp secondary selloff in recent weeks, following a 72% year-over-year decline in adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of fiscal 2026. Approximately €1.38 billion in European CLO holdings have been affected across 50 managers, according to Octus’ CLO database. The company is backed by CVC.For the second quarter ended Jan. 31, the company reported adjusted EBITDA of €5 million, down €13 million from the same period a year earlier. Sales declined 4% year over year, primarily driven by an 11.2% drop in the U.K.

The company had €93 million of cash on its balance sheet as of January and burned €193 million of cash during the first half of fiscal 2026.

Octus’ analysis of Stark Group’s second-quarter 2026 earnings can be viewed here.

The company is currently rated B- by S&P Global Ratings and B3 with a negative outlook by Moody’s Ratings.

In the secondary market, Stark Group’s €1.345 billion term loan B due 2028 was last quoted at 76.14/76.39, down about 12 points from 88 in late February.

Octus’ CLO data shows that the largest European exposures to Stark Group are held by CVC, Apollo and Blackstone.
Top 10 European CLO Managers by Exposure to Stark Group
Manager Balance (€M) As Of
CVC Credit Partners LLC 157 March 4, 2026
Apollo Credit Management LLC 93.5 Feb. 28, 2026
Blackstone Inc 77.5 March 5, 2026
Invesco Inc. 69.01 Feb. 17, 2026
Investcorp B.S.C. 59.97 March 9, 2026
Onex Credit Partners LLC 52.53 March 6, 2026
Palmer Square Capital Management LLC 50.37 Feb. 28, 2026
KKR Financial Advisors LLC 50.22 March 10, 2026
PGIM 48.17 Feb. 27, 2026
Tikehau Capital Europe Limited 41.5 Feb. 27, 2026

All top holders maintain exposure in their reinvesting CLOs. Weighted-average triple-C asset percentages for the affected transactions are shown below, with all managers’ exposed CLOs currently passing their overcollateralization tests.

Top 10 European Holders’ Reinvesting CLO Collateral Performance
Manager WA Triple-C Asset (%) OC Test As Of
CVC Credit Partners LLC 5.55 Pass March 4, 2026
Apollo Credit Management LLC 1.93 Pass Feb. 28, 2026
Blackstone Inc 5.01 Pass March 5, 2026
Invesco Inc. 4.28 Pass March 16, 2026
Investcorp B.S.C. 4.63 Pass March 9, 2026
Onex Credit Partners LLC 4.28 Pass March 6, 2026
Palmer Square Capital Management LLC 2.3 Pass Feb. 28, 2026
KKR Financial Advisors LLC 3.66 Pass Feb. 27, 2026
PGIM 5.34 Pass Feb. 27, 2026
Tikehau Capital Europe Limited 2.83 Pass Feb. 27, 2026

Stark Group’s capital structure is shown below.

Stark Group
01/31/2026
EBITDA Multiple
(EUR in Millions)
Amount
Maturity
Rate
Book
€371M Revolving Credit Facility
Oct-2027
€1.345B Term Loan B
1,345.0
Apr-2028
EURIBOR + 3.500%
€450M TLB Non fungible Add-On
450.0
Apr-2028
EURIBOR + 5.000%
Total Senior Secured Debt
1,795.0
5.8x
Lease Liabilities
881.0
Total Lease Liabilities
881.0
8.7x
Total Debt
2,676.0
8.7x
Less: Cash and Equivalents
(93.0)
Net Debt
2,583.0
8.4x
Operating Metrics
LTM Revenue
7,676.0
LTM Reported EBITDA
307.0
Liquidity
RCF Commitments
371.0
Less: Letters of Credit
(167.0)
Plus: Cash and Equivalents
93.0
Total Liquidity
297.0
Credit Metrics
Gross Leverage
8.7x
Net Leverage
8.4x
Notes:
Stark reported 6.7x net senior secured leverage based on €384M LTM January run-rate adjusted EBITDA

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