Blackstone is allowing investors to redeem a record 7.9% of shares in its flagship private credit vehicle, Blackstone Private Credit Fund (BCRED), marking the latest sign of pressure across the private credit market, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The redemptions amount to approximately $3.8bn. The report cites a regulatory filing as showing that Blackstone is satisfying the requests by increasing a previously announced tender offer to 7% of the fund’s total shares and covering the remaining 0.9% itself, alongside employees. BCRED has roughly $82bn in total assets, including leverage.
The 7.9% figure exceeds the typical 5% quarterly redemption cap applied by such evergreen private credit funds, which are popular among individual investors. Managers can generally lift the limit by an additional two percentage points without formally reopening the tender.
A Blackstone spokesperson said the decision was intended to meet 100% of redemption requests “with certainty and timeliness”, underscoring the firm’s conviction in BCRED and alignment with investors.
Redemption activity has accelerated across several private credit vehicles in recent quarters, as investor concerns mount over valuations, credit quality and the sector’s exposure to software companies potentially vulnerable to AI-driven disruption. The $1.8tn private credit market has faced growing scrutiny amid warnings that defaults could rise in a more aggressive downside scenario.
Despite the outflows, Blackstone said BCRED continues to deliver strong performance, citing a 9.8% annualised total return since inception for its Class I shares, representing a 360 basis point premium over leveraged loans.
Other managers have also faced elevated redemption pressure. Blue Owl recently saw investors redeem shares equivalent to around 15% of net assets from one of its technology-focused credit funds, while another vehicle has paused quarterly redemptions and begun selling assets to return capital.
Large private credit platforms, including those run by Ares, have similarly reported a spike in withdrawal requests in recent months, particularly from retail-oriented products.
