Dechert Advises Ares Management on its First European Direct Lending CLO

Dechert advised Ares Management Credit funds on the pricing of the firm’s first European Direct Lending Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO), Ares European Direct Lending CLO 1, at £305 million. This is thought to be the first reinvesting Direct Lending CLO in the European market and one of the first Direct Lending CLOs issued in Europe.

Ares European Direct Lending CLO 1 is a diversified CLO comprised entirely of directly originated and actively managed loans issued by over 50 UK middle-market companies, primarily operating in defensive industries. The CLO is weighted towards senior-secured floating rate loans and will be rated by S&P and KBRA.

Ares Management is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, real estate, private equity and infrastructure asset classes.

Dechert’s top-ranked securitization, investment adviser and fund lawyers represent issuers, placement agents, collateral managers and equity investors in CLO transactions, including middle-market and broadly syndicated CLOs, across the United States and Europe.

The cross-border Dechert team that advised Ares included London-based global finance partner Aaron Scott along with associates Rory O’Connor and Edmund Mayne based in Dublin and London respectively, who served as CLO counsel; Luxembourg-based financial services and investment management partner Jean-Louis Frognet and associate Thomas Tomasic who served as Luxembourg Issuer counsel; Luxembourg-based tax partner Olivier Gaston-Braud and associate Lydia Chemini; and U.S. tax partner Craig Cohen.

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