Private-Debt Funds Seeking $212 Billion in Limbo After Rout
- Large, established players best placed to ride market downturn
- Investors may be wary of newer managers they’ve yet to meet
Photographer: Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
Private credit funds looking to raise more than $212 billion from investors are now finding their efforts hampered by the continuing spread of the coronavirus.
Over the last two weeks, at least half a dozen lenders to mid-size businesses actively fundraising in North America and Europe have canceled appointments or travel plans to meet with prospective investors, according to people familiar with the matter who aren’t authorized to speak publicly. In Asia at least one private lender extended its fund’s closing to later this year due to the virus, according to one of the people.