Direct lending

Principal launches private credit interval fund

Fund seeks 90% plus exposure to private credit, and targets US wealth and institutional markets.

Growth opportunities: Asian direct lending

Demand for private credit is growing in Asia and offers attractive risk-adjusted returns.

Barings: How and why direct lending business models are diverging

Direct lending deals are getting bigger – but arguably, the most compelling relative value still lies in the traditional or ‘true’ mid-market, say Barings’ Tyler Gately and Stuart Mathieson.

Aflac unit buys 40% stake in direct lender Tree Line

Tree Line’s ‘underwriting discipline’ attracted the insurance giant in its pursuit of exposure to mid-market direct lending.

How banks are pivoting to compete

The popularity of private credit is creating more competition and consequently more opportunities for both borrowers and lenders, according to Proskauer’s Faisal Ramzan and Alice Dawson-Loynes

Ares raises over $17bn in Q1, with more than $14bn in the credit group

LA-based manager has a record amount of available capital, but sees dip in fundraising from Q4 2023.

Why PE-backed take-private deals are more popular than ever

Blackstone took online pet care marketplace Rover private for $2.3bn, and Vista took software developer EngageSmart private for $4bn.

Vidrio and AW survey: Investors’ appetite undeterred by denominator effect

Credit strategy’s slice of the alternatives pie grew to $32.4bn in 2023 from $27.1bn the previous year.

CalPERS and CalSTRS to boost private credit allocations

CalPERS is adding 3% and CalSTRS 2% to private credit; the public equity allocation at both pensions will decline.