Partners Group Raises $450 Million for New Direct Lending Fund

(Bloomberg) -- Investment manager Partners Group has raised about $450 million for a direct lending fund as demand for private debt surges amid a hunt for higher-yielding assets.

With the initial commitments, including leverage, the fund will have that amount to invest so far, but has the potential to grow as it remains open for future commitments, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.

The fund, Private Credit Strategies, will be mostly for U.S. direct lending, and has a similar structure to the firm’s evergreen Partners Group Private Equity Master Fund, the person said. The global private markets firm has 20 offices worldwide with regional headquarters in Switzerland, the U.S. and Singapore.

A representative for Partners Group declined to comment.

Investors, hunting for higher returns in a low-interest rate environment, have helped drive a pick up in deal activity in the $975 billion private debt market. Firms are currently looking to raise a record $301.4 billion for 586 vehicles, according to London-based research firm Preqin Ltd.

Partners Group invests across multiple asset classes including private equity, private real estate, private infrastructure and private debt. The new fund is just one part of Partners’ overall debt platform which raised $3.7 billion in new commitments during 2020, according to the company’s annual report.

The firm had $109 billion of assets under management as of December 31 2020, with private debt making up 23% at $25 billion, according to the report.

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