Jefferies Credit Partners, a private credit manager and the asset management arm of Jefferies Finance, intends to launch a private placement of a business development company to enhance its lending capacity in the private credit space.
The newly formed BDC will focus on first lien senior secured loans to private equity sponsored U.S. companies. The BDC’s investments will target upper middle-market borrowers that have greater than $75 million of EBITDA.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) committed to invest $625 million in equity in the BDC in order to anchor the BDC launch. The BDC expects to launch with approximately $1.7 billion of investable capital.
“This agreement with ADIA to seed our first BDC comes as the tailwinds in the private credit market have never been stronger,” Thomas Brady, president of Jefferies Finance, said. “We value the trust ADIA has shown in us and look forward to a long and successful relationship.”
“This independently run platform will benefit from a unique origination engine due to its partnership with Jefferies’ leading investment banking franchise, driving exclusive access to differentiated investment opportunities,” Hamad Shahwan Aldhaheri, executive director of the private equities department at the ADIA, said.
Jefferies Finance is a joint venture of Jefferies Financial Group and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.
