The Credit Crunch 14/05/23

Your weekly summary of Private Credit Fundraising

Ares, a Los Angeles based alternative investment manager, has begun raising its third Ares Senior Direct Lending Strategy Fund. The fund will lend to North American senior corporates and will target a final close of $10 billion. The fund will be 25 percent larger than the previous fund which had a final close of $8 billion in 2018. More here

Pantheon, a global private markets investor, announced the final close of its $590 million Pantheon Credit Opportunities Fund II. The secondaries fund will invest in credit portfolios, primarily in the US with a focus on downside protection. In addition to senior strategies, the fund will also target opportunistic exposures in special situations, growth lending, specialty and asset-backed finance. Pantheon invested $1.7 billion to 27 secondary transactions in 2022, spanning a range of LP and GP initiated investments in Europe and North America. More here

Schroders Capital, a London-headquartered investment manager, announced a first close of $350 million for its third European infrastructure debt fund. The fund will lend to brownfield, core, mid-market assets in Europe. The previous fund raised over $1.1 billion and closed in 2021. More here

Stride Ventures, an Indian based venture debt lender, announced the first close of its third $200 million venture debt fund. The fund lends to high-growth technology startups based in India. Stride has lent to more than 100 Indian startups across its two funds. More here

Liquidity Capital, an Israeli based fintech platform, announced the launch of its $250 million Mars Growth Capital Europe fund. The fund is a joint venture between Liquidity Capital and Japanese bank MUFG. It will lend to late-stage European technology companies as well as European mid-market companies. More here

NewVest, a New York based Fintech platform, has launched its first private credit index fund. The Private Debt 50 index has raised $110 million and will invest in the 50 largest private debt funds each year. The index will offer diversified exposure across managers, geographies, sectors and strategies, including direct lending, mezzanine and specialty lending. This will include debt funds such as Golub, Pemberton and Bain Capital. More here