EMEA Private Credit Review – June 20, 2025

The list of destabilizing macroeconomic and geopolitical events grows week by week, with a major escalation in the Middle East adding to U.S. tariff concerns for investors across the globe. Yet interest in European private credit has, if anything, grown since the start of the year, with investors unbowed by risk. “What changed recently is that early adopters [of private credit] are now diversifying, looking for higher risk strategies,” according to Marco Busca, head of indirect private debt at Generali.

However, if investors are seeking an oasis of calm, then they can always turn to the European middle market. At least according to mid-market lender Pemberton, which published its Viewpoint 2025 report declaring that European mid-market companies are well positioned to navigate U.S. tariffs in particular owing to their “limited exposure,” with its own portfolio having “fewer than one in ten of its assets rely on the United States for more than 20% of its revenues.” Also, European companies’ domestic markets “look set for a major fiscal boost that should accelerate the Continent’s economic growth,” according to the report.

In recent weeks private credit fund managers have also reported U.S.-based limited partners’ growing appetite for European mid-market assets. The first quarter of the year showed an increased disparity in pricing levels between EMEA and the Americas, according to Private Credit by Octus. While in the second quarter of the year, the United States has experienced growing macroeconomic and currency risks, leading to homegrown LPs considering European assets, according to industry insiders.
 

However, an imminent rush by U.S. LPs into the European mid-market is unlikely. “These decisions are taken with a long-term strategic view months and years in advance,” according to Jerrold Abbertson, managing director of mid-market advisory firm Long Lane Capital Advisory. However, he expects “more U.S. investors to turn to Europe in the medium to long term, if the economic and regulatory uncertainties there persist and start adversely impacting investment opportunities.”

Meanwhile, in the large-cap space, there is some cautious optimism that there will be an uptick in deal flow as we enter the second half of the year. This week alone, Octus reported on four large-cap assets being prepped for sale later this year. “Optimistically if we can get some stability around the tariffs situation and the geopolitical landscape we may see more activity,” said Abbertson.
 

Octus exclusively revealed that Ares is the sole provider of staple financing to support Main Capital Partner’s acquisition of Dutch automotive software providers CarWise and AutoDisk. The financing levers CarWise and AutoDisk at about 6x and has a cash margin of slightly under 550 bps over the reference rate with a fee of just over 200 bps. The deal, which was organized by M&A and debt advisor Oaklins, is a so-called triple-track stapled financing that also involved Arcmont and Bridgepoint providing staples, as exclusively revealed by Octus during the auction.

Geert Damman, director of debt advisory at Oaklins Netherlands, told Octus that the deal was, “to our knowledge, the first of its kind in the European market.” It featured “three independent direct lenders, each providing a standalone, committed, and executable financing structure within a controlled sell-side process. The lenders were selected by Oaklins as the most competitive based on pricing, structure, and deliverability following a broad lender education process. A three-lender setup was chosen deliberately, to provide optionality to buyers in terms of lenders and structures even in the event that one lender could not ultimately deliver on its terms,” he said.

Damman added that “once all three lenders had signed executable commitment letters, bidders were given equal access to the terms and were free to proceed with the option that best suited their strategy.” The bidders also “retained the flexibility to further tailor the committed structures to their preferred financing terms or precedent documentation, as well as engage with any non-stapled lenders.”

Oaklins declined to comment on the financial terms or participants in the transaction.

You can access the weekly summary of our proprietary and aggregated intelligence on expected and live buyout and refinancing deals in Octus’ EMEA Deal Origination Pipeline.
 

CVC announced the launch of CVC Catalyst, which will invest primarily in fast-growing European mid-market businesses with less than €250 million of equity.

NorthWall Capital has raised over €1.6 billion year-to-date, including $503 million for its new Senior Lending strategy that targets upper mid-market European borrowers and launched on June 6.

Aurelius announced the closure of its Opportunities V fund, which raised €830 million for carve-outs, platform build-ups and buy-outs of mid-market assets with revenues of at least €100 million.

West Wing Credit Fund has announced that it has secured €100 million of commitments from Belgian investors ahead of its final close scheduled for the end of August.
 

Alantra has hired three senior M&A advisors from UBS, led by managing director Jérôme Breuneval, for its French business.

KKR has hired Mikael Markman from Nomura to become its new managing director for its Paris office, according to L’Informé.