Ares raises record €30bn for European direct lending fund
Ares Management has raised a record €30bn (£25.3bn) for its latest European direct lending fund, which it believes to be the largest institutionally-funded direct lending vehicle in the market.
Ares Capital Europe VI (ACE VI) has attracted €17.1bn of commitments, having closed above its €15bn target and reached its hard cap.
Including related vehicles and anticipated leverage, the total available capital for the Ares European Direct Lending strategy is expected to be approximately €30bn.
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The fund has attracted a 53 per cent greater volume of investor commitments than its predecessor fund, which closed in 2021 at its €11.1bn hard cap.
“The final closing of ACE VI underscores the strength of Ares’ European direct lending platform as well as the strong demand from borrowers for flexible capital solutions,” said Blair Jacobson, partner and co-head of European credit. “We thank our existing and new investors for their confidence in our longstanding and differentiated strategy.”
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ACE VI focuses on European companies in defensive industries with EBITDA in excess of €10m. It has already committed around €6.4bn across over 50 investments to date.
“Over the past 18 years, we have continued to demonstrate our market leadership through our local pan-European approach,” said Michael Dennis, partner and co-head of European credit. “Our team’s deep regional and sector experience, alongside our longstanding sponsor and partner relationships, enable us to originate significant opportunities with high-quality borrowers.”
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The final close of ACE VI comes after Ares previously announced that it had raised $33.6bn (£27.6bn) of capital for its Senior Direct Lending Fund III.
Ares’ European direct lending strategy manages over $74bn in assets in total.