By Suzanne McGee and Isla Binnie
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, May 15 (Reuters) – Private credit pioneer Ares Management disclosed a wide array of new or increased stakes in alternative asset vehicles including several direct lending funds in its quarterly 13-F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
Ares, an alternative asset manager that said this month it raised a record $30 billion during the first quarter, revealed that it initiated a position in medical device manufacturer Integer Holdings during the same period, a stake that was valued at $53.3 million as of March 31.
It also made smaller first-time investments in business development companies (BDCs) BlackRock TCP Capital and Carlyle Secured Lending.
The asset manager boosted 17 other holdings, including in several other BDCs, which raise equity and pair it with leverage to lend to small and mid-sized companies. The asset class has come under pressure due to doubts about lending standards and concerns that artificial intelligence will disrupt the software businesses to which many of these BDCs had extended loans. Ares increased its holdings in Golub Capital BDC and Blue Owl Technology Finance. It added to its position in its own BDC, Ares Capital Corp.
In contrast, Ares’s only sale was the liquidation of its stake in New Mountain Finance. The latter sold a portfolio of $477 million in assets in February.
(Reporting by Suzanne McGee in Providence, Rhode Island; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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