Aberdeen grows US private credit with £1.5bn deal

Aberdeen Investments has boosted its US private credit platform by acquiring £1.5bn of closed-end funds (CEFs) from MFS Investment Management.

The £382bn asset manager has taken over nine MFS funds, which cover private credit, fixed income, and municipal bonds. Through a series of mergers and reorganisations, the nine funds, together with an existing Aberdeen CEF, will be consolidated into two active CEFs, the firm said.

Five MFS taxable fixed income funds will be merged to create a $1.4bn (£1.05bn) multi-sector fixed income CEF, which includes private credit and a variety of bonds. This fund represents Aberdeen’s first entry into this segment of the US market and is primarily aimed at US retail investors.

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“This is an exciting opportunity to bring our institutional expertise and leadership in fixed income and private credit to US retail investors through a liquid, closed-end fund structure,” said Christian Pittard, head of closed-end funds and managing director, corporate finance at Aberdeen Investments. “The enlarged funds will benefit from real scale and will focus on areas of deep expertise for Aberdeen, where we see clear potential for further growth.”

The remaining four MFS municipal bond CEFs, together with one Aberdeen municipal bond CEF, will be consolidated to create a c.$1bn municipal bond fund. Overall, Aberdeen currently manages approximately £21.4bn in closed-end funds.

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“We are delighted to add further scale to our US closed-end fund platform with this highly synergistic acquisition,” said Jason Windsor, chief executive at Aberdeen Group. “As we implement our strategy to become the UK’s leading wealth and investment group, we will continue to invest in areas of strength where we see significant room for growth.”

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