The company is committed to scaling and developing its asset management platform, which now has AUM of €31bn

October 23, 2024 (Preqin News) – Euronext-listed private equity investor Wendel has spent $1.1bn to acquire an initial 75% stake in US-based private debt firm Monroe Capital, as the French investment group continues developing its third-party private market capabilities.

Wendel and Monroe Capital also announced that AXA IM Prime will take a minority stake in the firm of up to $50mn.

Chicago-based Monroe Capital has raised 22 funds since its inception in 2004, according to Preqin data. The US firm is currently raising a $750mn special situations fund and a $3.0bn direct lending fund. It has assets under management of $19.5bn, meaning that the acquisition will more than double AUM on Wendel’s platform to €31.0bn ($33.4bn).

‘This acquisition marks an important step forward for Wendel's asset management platform, which we are committed to scaling. Wendel is becoming an asset manager alongside our decades-long activity as a long-term equity investor,’ Laurent Mignon, Wendel Group CEO, said in the deal announcement.

Fund managers have stepped up acquisitions of private debt specialist firms in 2024 to expand their capabilities in the in-demand and growing asset class.

For example, US-based Clearlake Capital purchased MV Credit from Natixis last month to broaden global direct lending capabilities. UK-headquartered Janus Henderson acquired a majority stake in Victory Park Capital, a direct lending and distressed debt manager, in August. Earlier this year, Paris-based Sienna Investment Managers bought Italian private credit manager Ver Capital in April.

The Monroe Capital deal follows Wendel’s acquisition of UK-based private equity firm IK Partners in late 2023 for €383mn ($412.9mn). At the time Mignon said: ‘The partnership with IK is a major step in the deployment of our new strategy announced in 2023. It will form the foundation of the private asset management division we are building.’

Private debt AUM in North America is forecast to almost double from $677.2bn in 2022 to $1.33tn in 2029, a compound annual growth rate of 10.2%, according to Preqin’s Future of Alternatives 2029 report.


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