Goldman Sachs Asset Management is planning to raise approximately $13bn for its latest mezzanine debt fund, GS Mezzanine Partners IX, which will target private equity-backed companies across North America and Europe, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report cites unnamed people familiar with the matter as confirming that preliminary discussions with potential investors have begun ahead of a formal launch later this year.
The fund will provide subordinated financing, positioned below senior loans but above equity, with the goal of delivering net returns of 11%–13% using leverage, or 8%–9% on an unleveraged basis.
Opportunistic investors are increasingly drawn to credit market dislocations, particularly amid disruption from artificial intelligence in the software sector. These pressures have triggered waves of redemptions and prompted trading of software-linked debt in the $1.8tn private credit market.
Goldman Sachs has maintained a long-standing presence in private credit, and this will be its ninth mezzanine fund since the strategy’s debut in 1996.
A representative for Goldman Sachs reportedly declined to comment on the fund.
