The Credit Crunch 28/05/23

Your weekly summary of private credit fundraising

KKR, a New York based asset manager, is reportedly raising an evergreen multi-billion-dollar direct lending fund in Europe. The fund will primarily provide unitranche loans to European private equity-owned businesses. The structure will allow investors to deposit and withdraw cash more frequently than typical closed-ended vehicles. More here

Softbank, a Japanese investment company, is reportedly launching a venture debt fund. The fund will lend globally to technology startups, including some of SoftBank's own venture capital portfolio. It is expected to target returns in the mid-teens and could deploy as much as $1 billion. More here

Blazehill Capital, a UK based private credit fund, announced the final close of its $310 million Fund II. The fund will lend to mid-market companies in UK, Europe and North America with typical revenues above $10 million. Blazehill can provide senior and junior facilities of between $6 - 60 million. The fund is a strategic partnership with InterVest Capital Partners. More here

Fundrise, a Washington D.C.-based alternative asset manager, launched its $500 million commercial real estate fund. The fund will target lending to residential landlords. Fundrise described the current environment as a “great deleveraging” moment in which higher interest rates deflate property values, forcing owners to inject new capital or risk defaulting on their loans. More here

Fidelity Investments, a US based asset manager, launched its Multi-Strategy Credit Fund. The fund will invest globally in a wide range of opportunities, including direct lending, leveraged loans, distressed assets, real estate debt and emerging markets debt. More here