Key Takeaways
- • Ares Management is raising capital faster for its latest flagship US direct lending fund than for the prior record-setting vintage, according to a person familiar with the matter (per Bloomberg).
- • The first close of the flagship funds totals about $8 billion, roughly 60% above what the prior vintage raised at the same stage, per Bloomberg's headline and the publisher's coverage.
- • Fundraising is spread across two vehicles launched in April: the closed-end Ares Senior Direct Lending Fund IV and Ares Senior Direct Lending Core, its first senior direct lending open-ended fund for institutional investors.
- • The new fund raised almost twice its initial $4.5 billion target, according to reporting cited in the cluster coverage.
Summary
Ares Management Corp. is raising money faster for its latest flagship US direct lending fund than for the previous record-setting vintage, according to a person familiar with the matter, as cited by Bloomberg. The Los Angeles-based alternative asset manager reported that third-quarter assets and management fees were in line with Wall Street estimates. Bloomberg's reporting and the publisher's headline place the first close of the flagship funds at about $8 billion, which the publisher characterizes as 60% greater than what the prior vintage raised at the equivalent stage, before expected leverage is added.
The capital is being raised across two vehicles that launched in April. The first is the closed-end Ares Senior Direct Lending Fund IV. The second is Ares Senior Direct Lending Core, described as the firm's first senior direct lending open-ended fund for institutional investors. Separate coverage in the cluster notes that the new fund raised almost twice its initial target of $4.5 billion and nearly three times the amount raised by the direct-lending fund launched in 2018.
The fundraising pace comes amid a broader private-credit arms race, in which large managers are competing for institutional capital. Other cluster headlines reference Ares's record fundraising in earlier periods, but those reports concern different vehicles and timeframes and are not part of this first-close update. Full terms, fee structures and final fund sizes were not available from the sources reviewed.
The capital is being raised across two vehicles that launched in April. The first is the closed-end Ares Senior Direct Lending Fund IV. The second is Ares Senior Direct Lending Core, described as the firm's first senior direct lending open-ended fund for institutional investors. Separate coverage in the cluster notes that the new fund raised almost twice its initial target of $4.5 billion and nearly three times the amount raised by the direct-lending fund launched in 2018.
The fundraising pace comes amid a broader private-credit arms race, in which large managers are competing for institutional capital. Other cluster headlines reference Ares's record fundraising in earlier periods, but those reports concern different vehicles and timeframes and are not part of this first-close update. Full terms, fee structures and final fund sizes were not available from the sources reviewed.
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