As Credit Secondaries Demand Rises, Pantheon Hits $3B Mark

Global asset manager Pantheon announced that its private credit secondaries portfolio, which launched in 2018, hit $3 billion following the close of its $590 million offering for Pantheon Credit Opportunities Fund II (PCO II).

The latest fundraise includes $390 million to a commingled fund and $200 million for a discretionary secondary credit opportunistic co-investment account. PCO II follows the above-target close of the firm’s $92.8 billion senior credit-focused Pantheon Senior Debt II USD program last year.

PCO II will invest in secondary investment in high-quality credit portfolios, primarily in the US with a focus on downside protection, targeting a mix of both senior strategies and assets, as well as opportunistic exposures including special situations, growth lending and specialty- and asset-backed finance.

“As a first mover in credit secondaries, we will continue to leverage our scale, leadership position, credit expertise and partnership approach with GPs to capitalize on the increasing demand for private credit liquidity solutions,” said Rakesh Jain, global head of private credit at Pantheon.

Pantheon said demand from both LPs and GPs for secondary solutions had risen in recent years because of strong primary fundraising for private credit and has intensified as market conditions have driven a focus on liquidity.

Pantheon’s private credit secondaries deal flow reached a new high of $22 billion in 2022, up from $5.5 billion in 2018. The secondaries program currently has exposure to approximately 1,500 companies and more than 30 private credit managers.

The firm has been working in co-investments since 2009 as an extension of its global private equity platform. The firm’s credit team committed a record $1.7 billion to 27 secondaries deals last year.