Dechert Advises Ares Credit Funds on Second European Direct Lending CLO

Dechert advised Ares Credit funds, affiliates of Ares Management Corporation, on the pricing of their second European Direct Lending Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO), Ares European Direct Lending CLO II, at more than £300 million. Dechert also advised on last year’s Ares European Direct Lending CLO 1, thought to be the first reinvesting Direct Lending CLO in the European market and among the first Direct Lending CLOs issued in Europe.

As with its predecessor, Ares European Direct Lending CLO II is a diversified CLO comprised entirely of directly originated and actively managed loans issued by more than 70 middle-market companies predominantly based in Western Europe and primarily operating in resilient industries. Among the first multicurrency middle-market CLOs in Europe, it is weighted towards senior-secured floating rate loans and will be rated by S&P and KBRA.

Ares Management Corporation 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 with associate Rory O’Connor in Dublin and Edmund Mayne in London; Luxembourg-based financial services and investment management partner Jean-Louis Frognet; and Luxembourg-based tax partner Olivier Gaston-Braud with associate Lydia Chemini.

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