Morgan Stanley Credit Partners, the first dedicated corporate mezzanine fund from Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM), has held its final closing with USD956 million in capital commitments.
“This successful fund raise demonstrates the strength of the Morgan Stanley Credit Partners’ investment team, and the confidence investors have in Morgan Stanley,” says Gregory Fleming (pictured), President of MSIM and Global Research. “The demand for alternative investments, combined with the team’s leveraged finance expertise and ability to leverage Morgan Stanley’s global resources and relationships, contributed to the strong response from investors.”
MS Credit invests primarily in fixed income securities issued by middle market companies in the context of leveraged buyouts, debt refinancings, acquisitions and recapitalisations across a broad range of industry sectors, with a geographic focus in North America and Western Europe. To date, the Fund has invested more than USD160 million in five portfolio companies.
“The market for mezzanine debt investing is benefiting from favourable secular trends resulting from an underlying imbalance between the demand for and the supply of capital, particularly for middle market companies,” says Hank D’Alessandro, Managing Director and Head of Morgan Stanley Credit Partners. “We already have a robust investment pipeline in place, and we believe the Fund is well-positioned to continue to benefit from these dynamics.”