(Bloomberg) -- Investment firm D.E. Shaw & Co. raised $1 billion in commitments to its latest private credit fund, with a plan to buy assets in corporate and structured debt as well as synthetic securitizations.
The new vehicle, the sixth in the Alkali series begun by D.E. Shaw in 2012, is designed to provide exposure to less liquid credit-related assets. More than $500 million of investor capital will come from outside investors in prior Alkali funds, an uptick from its predecessor fund in 2021, according to a statement seen by Bloomberg News.
The $2 billion raised in the two most recent Alkali funds expands the amount devoted to this family of funds to around $3.9 billion. Alkali VI will be managed by Richard McKinney, Marianna Fassinotti and Seth Charnow, who lead the firm’s private credit efforts together.
D.E. Shaw manages more than $60 billion across its systemic, discretionary and hybrid strategies. The firm has been active through other private credit vehicles, particularly its Diopter series that’s adding a second fund after the first one raised about $650 million in February 2023.
Private credit funds have outperformed buyout funds in seven of the last 10 quarters, with direct lenders benefiting from the floating rate debt they’ve underwritten.
But that outperformance could be nearing its end as the Federal Reserve continues to cut interest rates, which may make it easier for private equity to do deals.
--With assistance from Paula Seligson.
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