Crescent European Specialty Lending Fund II closes on €1.6bn

Alessia Argentieri
15 April 2020

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

Alternative credit investment firm Crescent Capital Group has held a тЌ1.6bn final close forТ its second specialty lending fund dedicated to the European market, Crescent European Specialty Lending Fund II (CESL II).

Launched in September 2018, the fund was oversubscribed, exceeding its initial target of €1bn as well as its hard-cap.

This fundraise represents a significant increase from its predecessor fund, CESL I, which closed on €500m in December 2015.

The GP is also managing its second direct lending fund dedicated to the US market, Crescent Direct Lending Fund II, which closed on $1.6bn in November 2018. The vehicle provides first-lien and unitranche senior financing to private-equity-backed lower-mid-market companies generating EBITDA of $5-35m.

Crescent Capital is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in New York, Boston and London. With 80 investment professionals and 160 employees, the firm invests at all levels of the capital structure, with a significant focus on below-investment-grade credit.

To date, Crescent has committed more than €1bn across 30 investments in Europe and managed approximately $28bn in total assets, with a relatively equal split between marketable securities and privately originated debt investments.

Founded in 1991 as Crescent Capital Corporation by Mark Attanasio and Jean-Marc Chapus, the firm was acquired by Trust Company of the West (TCW) in 1995 and rebranded as TCW's Leveraged Finance Group. Subsequently, Attanasio and Chapus, along with the entire investment team, span out of TCW and formed Crescent Capital Group in 2011. The firm has been investing in Europe since 1993.

Investors
CESL II attracted a diverse mix of international institutional investors, including global pension funds, insurance companies, financial institutions, foundations and endowments. Most investors in CESL I re-upped to the second vehicle, with the addition of several newcomers. The LP base includes Boston Retirement System and Indiana Public Retirement System, among others.

Investments
CESL II continues Crescent's strategy of investing in a diversified portfolio of private secured debt issued by European companies, prioritising directly originated transactions, sourced through the firm's relationship network.

The fund has a focus on below-investment-grade credit and targets senior bank loans, high-yield debt, mezzanine debt, distressed debt and other private debt securities. Having both leveraged and unleveraged sleeves, CESL II has so far committed approximately €400m across 12 investments.

People
Crescent Capital Group – Jean-Marc Chapus (managing partner, co-founder); Christine Vanden Beukel (managing director, head of Crescent European specialty lending strategy).