(Bloomberg) -- Blackstone Inc. amassed about $22 billion of capital, including anticipated leverage, for a new direct lending fund targeting institutional investors, according to a statement seen by Bloomberg.
The structure of the fund is essentially a hybrid between drawdown funds, where investors agree to lock up capital for a certain number of years, and traditional evergreen funds, which have no set maturity but let investors buy in and out periodically. The fund is focused on lending in large-cap and middle-market transactions, according to the statement.
The firm’s best known direct lending strategy is its $62 billion Blackstone Private Credit Fund, or BCRED, which is a business development company that targets retail investors. Blackstone’s credit business also invests the money of insurance companies and institutional asset managers, such as pensions and sovereign wealth funds.
Private credit lenders have been racing to amass larger sums of money to stay competitive and write bigger checks for individual deals. Ares Management Corp. recently hauled in roughly $34 billion for its latest direct lending fund, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted this year’s goal for alternatives fundraising goal by 20% on the promise of surging demand in credit markets.
Blackstone’s latest fundraise has brought the firm’s global direct lending platform to more than $123 billion as of the third quarter. That’s part of the $432 billion of assets under management across Blackstone’s entire credit platform through Sept. 30, according to its website.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.