Ares prices first European direct lending CLO at £305m

Ares Management has priced its first European direct lending collateralised loan obligation (CLO) at £305m.

The alternative asset manager believes this is the first reinvesting CLO in the European direct lending market and one of the first direct lending CLOs issued in Europe.

Ares European Direct Lending CLO 1 is a diversified CLO made up of directly originated and actively managed loans issued by over 50 middle-market companies based in the UK, primarily operating in defensive industries.

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The vehicle, which is weighted towards senior-secured floating rate loans, will be rated by S&P and KBRA.

BNP Paribas is serving as the arranger.

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“This successful pricing of our first European direct lending CLO is a testament to Ares’ 18 years of leadership in European private credit and builds on our ability to source, underwrite and manage scaled portfolios of direct loans,” said Michael Dennis, partner and co-head of European credit. “We are grateful for the strong support we have received in our efforts to deliver a differentiated product suite to meet the growing demand from investors and borrowers.”

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 Ares’ European direct lending strategy manages over $77bn (£56.7bn) in assets.

Additionally, the firm’s CLO portfolio accounts for $32bn of the $359bn of assets managed across the Ares credit group.