Crescent Capital raises €3bn for third European specialty lending fund
Crescent Capital Group has raised €3bn (£2.6bn) at the final close of its third European specialty lending fund, beating its initial target by €1bn.
The alternative credit investment firm said that the Crescent European Specialty Lending Fund III (CESL III) attracted a diverse mix of international institutional investors including pension funds, insurance companies, financial institutions, foundations, and endowments.
The fund – which has both levered and unlevered sleeves – raised substantially more than its predecessor, Crescent European Specialty Lending Fund II, which raised €1.8bn by its final close in April 2020.
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Crescent’s European specialty lending strategy began investing in Europe in 2014 and focuses on sponsor-backed European mid-market companies with an EBITDA of €5m to €25m.
CESL III has already committed around €800m across 16 transactions.
“The successful closing of our third European specialty lending fund is a testament to Crescent’s commitment to providing flexible capital solutions to middle market European companies,” said Christine Vanden Beukel, managing director and head of Crescent’s European specialty lending strategy.
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“As one of the early entrants into direct lending in Europe, we have developed a longstanding track record of consistent and strong performance as well as extensive relationships with the sponsor, advisor and corporate communities across Europe.
“We are deeply grateful for the support from both our new and existing investors, and we are excited to leverage this momentum to continue delivering value in this dynamic and evolving market.”
Crescent has $46bn (£35.5bn) of assets under management, spanning sub-investment grade credit strategies including senior bank loans, high yield bonds and private senior, unitranche and junior debt securities.
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