Benefit Street Partners and its affiliates have held the final closing of Providence Debt Fund III and its parallel funds, a middle market direct lending fund.
The fund had demand surpassing its USD1.75bn hard cap.
The fund was substantially oversubscribed and exceeded its target of USD1.0bn.
BSP began raising the fund in the first half of 2013. BSP previously raised Fund II in 2010, which also focused on middle market private debt and direct lending, and Fund I in 2008.
Since the inception of this strategy in 2010 through Q4 2013, it has generated a gross internal rate of return of approximately 18 per cent (14 per cent net), significantly outperforming the S&P LCD and ML High Yield Master II credit indices over the same period, and ranking in the top quartile of similar vintage funds based on data compiled by Venture Economics / Thomson Financial.
The fund received commitments from many existing and new investors, including state and corporate pensions, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and other high net worth individuals.
“We appreciate the commitment of our investors and their confidence in our team,” says Thomas J Gahan, founder and CEO of BSP. “The significant demand for the fund underscores the strength of our credit platform’s track record, particularly since multiple investors in this fund are also committed to one or more of our other credit products. Our entire team is focused on the significant opportunities ahead in credit and driving alpha for our investors.”
