GlobalCapital Honors Dechert for Advising on Europe’s Inaugural Reinvesting Direct Lending CLO

Dechert LLP’s global finance team has been recognized by GlobalCapital in its European Securitization Awards 2026, where a Dechert deal – Ares Management’s debut European direct lending CLO, the Ares European Direct Lending CLO 1 – was named “CLO Deal of the Year” and “Overall Securitization Deal of the Year”.

Dechert acted as lead counsel to Ares Management, serving as manager’s counsel, issuer’s counsel and drafting counsel on the £305 million diversified CLO. Novel elements in the transaction included the CLO’s reinvesting structure and use of a Luxembourg-domiciled issuer.

The Dechert team was led by London-based global finance partner Aaron Scott and associate Rory O’Connor, with Luxembourg partners Jean-Louis Frognet and Olivier Gaston-Braud.

Dechert’s global finance team has been a chief driver in the development of a private credit CLO market in Europe. In 2024, the firm oversaw the launch of Europe’s first-ever private credit CLO when it advised Barings on the structuring of Barings Euro Middle Market CLO 2024-1 DAC.

Dechert has subsequently acted for both Ares and Barings on the launch of other notable private credit CLOs in Europe, including the first to use a multicurrency structure, Barings Euro Middle Market CLO 2025-1 DAC, which was singled out by GlobalCapital as a finalist for “CLO Deal of the Year” and “Most Innovative Deal of the Year”.

For its success in driving several first-of-their-kind European private credit CLO transactions, Dechert itself was named a “CLO Law Firm of the Year” finalist by GlobalCapital at a ceremony at London’s Nobu Hotel on March 26.

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For more than 150 years, we have advised clients on critical issues – from high-stakes litigation to first-in-market transaction structures and complex regulatory matters. Our lawyers in commercial centers worldwide are immersed in the key sectors we serve – financial services, private capital, real estate, life sciences and technology.

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