Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) announced that funds managed by its Credit Group closed “approximately $12.8 billion in U.S. direct lending commitments across 93 transactions during the second quarter of 2024 and approximately $38.3 billion in direct lending commitments across 295 transactions in the 12 months ended June 30, 2024.”
The $38.3 billion of commitments over the 12-month period “represents a new record for the U.S. Direct Lending business.”
Below is a description of selected transactions that Ares “closed during the second quarter of 2024.”
Ares served as the “administrative agent, sole lead arranger and book runner for a senior secured credit facility to support Accel-KKR’s acquisition of Accertify.”
Accertify is a provider of “fraud prevention, chargeback management, account protection, and payment gateway solutions.”
Ares served as the “administrative agent, sole lead arranger and sole book runner for a senior secured credit facility to support TA Associates’ acquisition of Bluegrass Ingredients. Bluegrass Ingredients develops and manufactures customized natural and clean label flavorings, primarily specialty dairy powders, for the food & beverage end market.”
Ares served as the “administrative agent, joint lead arranger and joint book runner for a senior secured credit facility to support the sponsor’s continued growth plans for CVP. CVP is a leading veterinary network and operator of vet hospitals with 140+ practices across 18 states with regional density in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.”
Ares served as the “administrative agent, joint lead arranger and joint book runner for a senior secured credit facility to support the sponsor’s continued growth plans for Dotmatics. Dotmatics is a premier provider of data analytics, statistics and graphing software solutions for scientific research applications.”
Ares served as the “administrative agent, joint lead arranger and joint book runner for a senior secured credit facility to support Yellow Wood Partners’ acquisition of Elida Beauty. Elida Beauty is a personal care platform that markets and distributes consumer brands in North America, Europe and throughout the globe.”
Ares served as administrative agent and joint lead arranger “for a senior secured credit facility to support Peak Rock Capital’s acquisition of HuFriedy Group. HuFriedy is a market-leading manufacturer and marketer of dental instruments, infection prevention & control products, and conscious sedation equipment.”
Ares served as the joint lead arranger “for a senior secured credit facility to support the sponsors’ continued growth plans for Pye Barker.”
Pye Barker is a market leading provider of “highly recurring, non-discretionary, and non-deferrable fire protection services to commercial customers in a variety of end markets across the United States.”
For more details on other business activities, check here.
As noted in the update, Ares Management Corporation is a global alternative investment manager “offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, real estate, private equity and infrastructure asset classes.”
They seek to provide flexible capital “to support businesses and create value for our stakeholders and within our communities.”
By collaborating across our investment groups, they aim to “generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles.”
As of June 30, 2024, Ares Management Corporation’s global platform “had over $447 billion of assets under management, with more than 2,950 employees operating across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.”