Deals
Blackstone Struggles to Sell Private Credit to Europe’s Rich
- The ECRED fund is targeting the so-called mass affluent
- It’s been slowed down by macro, operational challenges
Jonathan Gray, president of Blackstone
Photographer: Simon Dawson/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Blackstone Inc. President Jon Gray told analysts last month that private credit is having a “golden moment” as fund managers take advantage of tighter credit after recent banking turmoil. Left unsaid was that a big push in Europe is proving an exception.
Almost six months after starting a fund targeting the region’s wealthy, the firm’s figures show it’s amassed €240 million ($261 million) for the product — through investor commitments and fund leverage — which is designed to provide alternative financing for private equity buyout deals. It’s a paltry amount compared with the $12 billion raised for an equivalent US fund, dubbed BCRED, at the half-year point.