NEW YORK (Bloomberg) - SageCrest Holdings Ltd., the Bermuda-based affiliate of a bankrupt Connecticut-based hedge fund, filed for bankruptcy protection without giving a reason.

SageCrest Holdings said in a petition filed last Wednesday in Bridgeport, Connecticut, that it has as many as 49 creditors and assets and debt of $100 million to $500 million each. The company is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which provides shelter from creditors while a company reorganises.

SageCrest II LLC, an affiliated Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund, sought bankruptcy protection on August 17. The fund, managed by investment firm Windmill Management LLC, filed for bankruptcy after Deutsche Bank AG told it to sell assets at a discount to pay a $7 million loan, according to SageCrest II lawyer Bill Brewer of Bickel & Brewer.

SageCrest Holdings has not filed a complete list of assets and debts, and it didn't disclose its corporate relationship to the other two bankrupt entities or to Windmill. James Berman, a lawyer for SageCrest Holdings, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Windmill was sued in May by Wood Creek Capital Management for failing to repay an investment. SageCrest, which has been liquidating assets for several months, stopped investors from redeeming their money in June.

SageCrest II's petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, also filed in Bridgeport, listed assets of more than $100 million and less than $10 million in debt. SageCrest Financial, which also filed for bankruptcy, is another affiliate that holds the hedge fund's assets.

Buchalter Nemer, a law firm based in Los Angeles, and Kelley Drye & Warren, a law firm based in New York, were listed among SageCrest II's largest unsecured creditors.

SageCrest II specializes in making secured loans to smaller companies. Its customers in the art market have included Art Capital Group, which was the largest creditor of bankrupt Berry- Hill Galleries Inc. In January, SageCrest settled a legal fight with Art Capital after suing it and being countersued for breaching a credit agreement.