Blackstone has announced announced the final close of the first series of its evergreen institutional U.S. direct lending fund, Blackstone Senior Direct Lending Fund (BXD).
Blackstone has closed on around $22 billion of investable capital for the inaugural series of BXD and related vehicles, “including anticipated leverage, exceeding $10 billion target.”
According to the update shared by the firm, this notably brings Blackstone’s direct lending platform to $123 billion+ in AuM as of the third quarter.
BXCI has so far deployed or committed $40 billion in direct lending through the third quarter, more than double the total for all of 2023.
This includes roles in some of the “largest deals” of the year “with CoreWeave ($7.5B), Squarespace ($2.7B), Fidelis ($2B), and Davies (£1.5B), as well as recent proprietary middle-market transactions for Permira’s Acuity Knowledge Partners ($600M), Graham Partners’ Gatekeeper Systems ($550M), and publicly listed Loar ($360M), where BXCI served as the sole lender.”
As noted in the update, Blackstone Credit & Insurance (BXCI) is one of the world’s credit investors.
Their strategic and diverse investments span the credit markets, including the following: private investment grade, asset based lending, public investment grade and high yield, sustainable resources, infrastructure debt, collateralized loan obligations, direct lending and opportunistic credit.
They reportedly seek to generate “risk-adjusted” returns for investors by offering companies capital needed to grow their businesses.
BXCI is also a provider of investment management services for insurers, helping companies deliver for policyholders through their capabilities in investment grade private credit.
Global investment firm Blackstone has announced a significant move in Japan’s financial technology (fintech) sector, with its private equity funds entering into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Sony Payment Services Inc. for an undisclosed amount.
As covered in December of last year, Blackstone said it would acquire Sony Payment from Sony Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Group, which will retain a part of its equity as a minority investor. This transaction marks Blackstone’s inaugural investment in Japan’s fintech sector.
Established as a business unit within Sony Group in 1995 and spun off as an independent entity in 2006, SPSV is today one of Japan’s top payment service providers. It offers a robust and high-speed infrastructure that facilitates secure online payments for customers and businesses.