Clearlake Credit eyes wealth market and more acquisitions for growth
Clearlake Credit, the unified credit business recently launched by Clearlake Capital, is remaining “acquisitive” as part of its ambitious growth plans.
Clearlake Capital was launched in 2006 and now manages $90bn (£66.8bn) of assets across private equity and private credit strategies. It launched the new credit division in May after making two acquisitions in the credit space.
Clearlake Credit incorporates MV Credit, a pan-European private credit manager that Clearlake Capital recently acquired from Natixis Investment Managers, and WhiteStar Asset Management, a credit-focused investment manager it bought in 2020, as well as Clearlake Capital’s existing credit business.
James Pade (pictured), a partner and managing director who has been with the firm since 2013, has been tasked with overseeing the new credit division.
“We’re big believers that we need to fully integrate our credit business, so with the acquisition of MV Credit, we thought now is the time to launch Clearlake Credit,” Pade told Alternative Credit Investor.
“We want to provide an all-encompassing one-stop-shop for sponsors. If a sponsor is doing a deal but hasn’t yet decided on the financing, we want to show them Clearlake Capital can solve an array of financing needs.”
Historically, it has been difficult for private equity sponsors to satisfy all their lending needs with one firm. But increasingly, asset managers are looking to offer a range of credit products, so that they can lend across the capital stack and sponsors do not have to work with several different lenders on just one deal.
For Pade, that is why it was important to have one integrated origination team that can speak across the different products the company has to offer.
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With WhiteStar Asset Management, the firm has liquid credit capabilities across the US and Europe, including collateralised loan obligations, and with MV Credit it has bolstered its private credit offering, which provides senior, junior and other hybrid debt and capital solutions to sponsor-backed companies. It targets investments of up to $1bn and has deployed more than $57bn into liquid and illiquid credit investments so far.
According to sources close to the business, Clearlake is also keeping its eye on the growth in asset-based lending and fund financing and could enter these markets as well, although Alternative Credit Investor understands there are no imminent plans.
Pade says that the team is “very focused on growing the business…through a combination of organic and inorganic activity” and that it will “continue to be acquisitive”.
“We believe in scaling the platform by putting more product through the existing team we have,” he added.
The wealth market will also play a part in these growth plans, as Pade believes that private credit is particularly well suited to individual investors.
“We think credit is a great product for the wealth community,” he said. “Having a mix of liquid and private credit, which provides liquidity as needed as well as yield, is an appropriate product for retirement planning.
“We understand that investors would like to have broader access to credit products and a mix of both liquid and private credit. Clearlake has at least one hybrid product today where we have a mix of private credit and more liquid credit within the portfolio.”
