CVC raises €10.4 billion for its European direct lending strategy

CVC Credit, the global credit management business of CVC, is pleased to announce the final close of its fourth European Direct Lending fund (“EUDL IV”)

CVC has raised €10.4 billion¹ to deploy across the European Direct Lending opportunity, representing a significant increase over CVC’s prior European Direct Lending funds, which raised €6.3 billion¹ in 2022 and €1.3 billion¹ in 2020.

The growth of CVC’s European Direct lending platform has been underpinned by CVC’s deep local relationships across its network of sixteen European offices, and CVC’s focus on Europe for over forty years. 

Rob Lucas, CEO at CVC said: “This is an excellent outcome for our latest European Direct Lending fund reflecting strong investment performance and deep and longstanding relationships with the highest quality institutional investors.

“CVC’s Credit platform benefits greatly from our international network of 30 local offices and its deep investment expertise. We are the number one CLO manager and a top three Private Credit manager in Europe. Our Liquid and Private Credit strategies have grown consistently over recent years and together now account for nearly a quarter of CVC’s total assets under management. We continue to see a significant number of opportunities for further growth in our Credit platform and forms a key part of our broader ambitions in Insurance and Private Wealth.”

Andrew Davies, Managing Partner, Head of CVC Credit, said: “We are extremely grateful for the continued trust and support of CVC’s global investor base. The European private credit market has developed significantly in recent years, driven by structural tailwinds and the increasing relevance of private credit within the wider credit ecosystem. We have capitalised on this market shift to scale our platform and deepen our resources, establishing CVC Credit as one of the top three private credit players in Europe.

“Looking ahead, our focus remains on delivering compelling financing solutions for Europe’s leading financial sponsors. By leveraging the insights from CVC’s leading Private Equity platform and the strength of the wider CVC Network, we are ideally positioned to act as a reliable long-term partner and to continue to take advantage of the significant European credit opportunity.”

EUDL IV has already made strong progress, committing to more than 30 investments. Recent transactions completed by EUDL IV include: KKR’s buyout of Immedica Pharma; the acquisition and growth strategy of smartTrade; Cinven’s acquisition of idealista; acting as sole lender for the acquisition of Innovative Beauty Group; and, supporting the delisting of Alpha FMC from the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange by Bridgepoint.

CVC Credit manages total assets of more than €48 billion (€43 billion of fee paying AUM) across its Liquid Credit and Private Credit businesses. The Private Credit platform comprises its European Direct Lending and Capital Solutions strategies with assets of more than €18 billion.

^{1. Taken together with parallel investment funds and accounts}