LGT’s second debt fund tops $1.5 bln

LGT Private Debt has closed its Crown European Private Debt II fund at 1.35 billion euros ($1.51 billion).

This is the first fund raised by the firm, formerly known as LGT European Capital, since European Capital was acquired by Swiss asset manager LGT Capital Partners in the summer of 2017. (The firm changed its name to LGT Private Debt on July 1.)

Crown European Private Debt Fund II was launched in December 2017 with a target of 800 million euros and is significantly larger than its predecessor, which closed on 474.5 million euros in April 2016 with the backing of 17 institutional investors. In August last year, Private Debt Investor reported that the fund had already garnered 640 million euros from 37 investors, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

LGT said it has received investments from more than 60 institutions including pension funds, insurance companies, endowments and family offices. The investors come from a wide geographic area including Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.

“Institutional investors have shown an increasing interest in private debt investing over the last few years, especially in senior-secured, first-lien ranking unitranche,” said Juan Carlos Morales Cortes, partner at LGT Private Debt.

The fund will provide unitranche and subordinated debt to companies across Europe with a target investment of between 15 million and 150 million euros.

LGT Private Debt said it will use its network of established relationships with private equity sponsors and intermediaries to give it sufficient quantity and quality of deal flow to make selective investment decisions.

This story first appeared in Private Debt Investor, a Buyouts affiliate publication. PDI News Editor John Bakie can be reached at john.b@peimedia.com.