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Goldman Sachs Asset Management is seeking to draw Europe’s wealthy into the alternative investments market with the launch of its first European private credit fund, according to a media report dated Wednesday.
The direct-lending fund, called GSEC, offers senior debt to mid-sized and large businesses in Europe. It has already raised over EUR 550M (US$594M), with investments in 23 companies, Bloomberg reported, citing a statement.
Like Goldman’s (NYSE:GS) asset manager, a slew of financial giants like Morgan Stanley (MS) have joined the fast-growing private credit space by developing direct-lending operations through asset management units. French lender BNP Paribas (OTCQX:BNPQF) (OTCQX:BNPQY) last month reportedly sought to raise €1B for a new direct-lending fund targeting medium-sized businesses.
Through its merchant bank, Goldman (GS) adopted private credit early on, setting up a mezzanine finance unit in 1996 and later raising $10.5B for a senior loan fund in 2008, the article said. Now, its direct-lending strategy supervises about $65B of assets.