DWS has held the first close of its new closed-ended European Direct Lending fund with commitments of more than EUR350 million from investors across Europe and Asia.
The fund is expected to be a third invested at first close and is targeting a final close of EUR500-700 million by the end of 2019.
DWS currently manages more than EUR130 billion across investment grade, hybrid, high yield and bank loan strategies. The Fund will co-invest alongside Buetsche Bank’s European Direct Lending business to senior European mid-market private loans. This will provide investors with access to Deutsche Bank’s pan-European network.
Marcus Herbig, Head of Structured Income at DWS, says: “We set out to provide investors with a highly differentiated offering which has been validated by the breadth and calibre of investors, including first-time Direct Lending investors that have chosen to invest with us in the strategy.”
