-- Investcorp SA’s Jeremy Ghose is a popular man. Ever since the $50 billion firm snapped up alternative-credit manager Marble Point late last year, he’s been juggling calls from bankers and firms pitching similar deals.
While the past 18 months have been pretty miserable for M&A bankers, the recent surge in interest in private-credit deals is a rare bright spot. This once niche market has become a $1.5 trillion behemoth, and the fund-management giants — attracted by bumper fees and the retreat of banks from corporate lending — want in. At the same time smaller credit firms are finding it hard to raise funds lately. Many want to cash out.
Private-debt titans such as Apollo Global, Ares Management and Oaktree Capital may consider high-quality additions, too, according to some industry executives. The firms declined to comment. But most deals so far involve large traditional players: T. Rowe Price bought Oak Hill for $4.2 billion at the end of 2021; late last year Nuveen agreed to acquire control of Arcmont; this summer Man Group Plc agreed to buy Varagon Capital and BlackRock Inc. bought Kreos.
The German fund giant, which hired Kelly from Blackstone Inc. this year to spearhead its drive into this market, is looking at acquisitions in the €400 million to €700 million range, according to a person familiar with the matter.The trend’s also being driven by investors in private-credit funds demanding scale, quality and a track record when deciding where to put their money.
The numbers tell the story. Data from Preqin show that private-debt funds raised $103 billion in the first half of 2023, down from $113 billion in the same period last year. This year it was spread across only 91 funds. In 2022, it was 127 in that same timeframe.
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