Blackstone Closes First U.S. Direct Lending Fund at $22 Billion

– Blackstone announced the final close of its first series of evergreen institutional U.S. direct lending fund, Blackstone Senior Direct Lending Fund (“BXD”).

– The fund has closed on approximately $22 billion of investable capital, exceeding the initial target of $10 billion.

– This brings Blackstone’s global direct lending platform to over $123 billion in assets under management as of Q3.

– Brad Marshall, Global Head of Private Credit Strategies at Blackstone Credit & Insurance, highlighted the capital raise as a reflection of their strength in private credit and global reach in corporate and sponsor-led transactions.

– BXCI has deployed or committed $40 billion in direct lending through Q3, more than double the total for all of 2023.

– Notable deals include CoreWeave ($7.5B), Squarespace ($2.7B), Fidelis ($2B), and Davies (£1.5B).

– Recent proprietary middle-market transactions include Acuity Knowledge Partners ($600M), Gatekeeper Systems, Inc. ($550M), and publicly listed Loar Group ($360M), where BXCI served as the sole lender.

– Gilles Dellaert, Global Head of BXCI, emphasized the strength of their global platform in traditional middle-market and larger deal opportunities.

– Investors and borrowers are increasingly recognizing the benefits of private capital in direct lending and the broader credit markets.