Blackstone plays ‘banker with a balance sheet’ to find lending deals
Blackstone’s BDC retreated to deploying in the upper middle market as the broadly syndicated market reclaimed large cap deals  

European direct lending "incredibly attractive", could easily see EUR 3bn unitranche in region: Ares
Co-head of European credit at Ares Management, Mike Dennis, spoke with Lisa Lee about the firm’s record fundraise for direct lending, and opportunities to invest in Europe  

JPMorgan strikes private credit partnership with Octagon
EXCLUSIVE: JPMorgan and Octagon's private credit tie-up comes as both expand into the private credit space

JPMorgan, co-lenders commit USD 65bn to direct lending
USD 50bn from the bank’s own balance sheet to support private credit deals

Octagon launches debut direct lending fund seeded by Generali Investments
EXCLUSIVE: Generali Investments has agreed to provide seed capital for Fund I, which will pursue sponsor-backed direct lending deals in the middle and upper middle market    

CVC blows past fundraising target on its European direct lending fund
The alternative investment manager has already increased the fundraising target once for the 2023 vintage fund  

Aurelius Finance hires originator for North of England, UK
The newly created role will originate, structure and execute complex secured-debt deals in the United Kingdom

Muzinich launches senior direct lending fund for retail investors
Structured as an ELTIF, the new fund does not require a minimum holding period for investors. 

Antares launches private credit fund for wealthy individuals
The new vehicle, started with USD 1.4bn in investable capital, will target the private wealth channel, a growing investor base to the private credit asset class

Invesco closes fundraising for flagship direct lending with USD 1.4bn
Direct Lending Fund II will pursue senior secured loan investments in the middle market

AXA IM Alts launches first evergreen private credit fund under ELTIF 2.0
AXA IM Alts has launched its first evergreen private credit fund that conforms to ELTIF 2.0

Global Private Credit AUM to reach USD 3trn by 2028 - Moody’s
Global private credit AUM is poised to hit USD 3trn by 2028, Moody's predicts, with momentum expected to grow over the next three years

Middle market private credit default climb significantly to 4.7% – Proskauer
The US direct lending market saw a big increase in middle market defaults in the fourth quarter of 2024

Mega direct lenders break records despite sluggish fundraising cycle
The new year kicked off with Ares Management showcasing the largest ever fundraise for a European direct lending strategy, suggesting that investors are preferring to pile into the largest private credit managers

Generali subsidiary Conning to acquire MGG Investment Group
Conning & Company will acquire a majority stake in US direct lending firm MGG Investment Group

Colbeck closes USD 700m fund for unsponsored direct lending
Colbeck Capital Management has raised USD 700m to invest in senior secured loans to unsponsored, middle market companies

BMO strikes partnership with firm founded by ex-CBAM’s Young and Damaso
BMO and Canal Road Group have struck a direct lending partnership that includes BMO taking a minority stake in the asset management company and investing up to USD 1bn 

Goldman Sachs launches capital solutions group for banking clients
Goldman Sachs is combining its financing, origination, structuring and risk management solution activities in global banking, and also named Vivek Bantwal as co-head of global private credit

Blue Owl raises more than USD 2bn for evergreen direct lending strategy
Blue Owl has raised more than USD 2bn for its sophomore direct lending fund that focuses on senior, first-lien loans

Sixth Street to invest USD 13bn for Northwestern Mutual
Sixth Street and Northwestern Mutual have struck a deal that gives Sixth Street USD 13bn of the insurer’s assets to invest across its private capital strategies

Silver Point closes on USD 8.5bn for direct lending fund, exceeding target
Silver Point Capital has held a final close for Silver Point Specialty Credit Fund III, raising USD 8.5bn for direct lending to middle-market companies, according to a press release. 

Beechbrook raises GBP 151m for SME credit fund
Beechbrook has announced the first close of its latest SME credit fund, UK SME Credit IV, with GBP 151m raised out of a target of GBP 250m

Allianz and AlTi launch new private debt program for UHNWs
Allianz X has struck a joint venture with global wealth management firm AlTi Global to create a private debt investment program for ultra-high-net-worth investors

PIK use rises to 12% of sponsored direct lending deals - KBRA
Sponsor-backed companies using payment-in-kind for senior debt now account for 12% of the KBRA DLD Direct Lending Index, an increase of 1% from the last quarter

Pantheon raises USD 1.19bn for latest private credit secondaries fund
Pantheon has raised USD 1.19bn in its latest fundraising for Pantheon Senior Debt Secondaries III, to invest in the private debt secondaries space