Secondaries specialist Coller Capital has closed a continuation vehicle for Ares U.S. Direct Lending’s 2018‑vintage fund with more than $1.3 billion in total commitments. The vehicle holds a diversified portfolio of first-lien, floating-rate loans to U.S. middle‑market companies backed by leading private equity sponsors. 

“As the private credit market continues to mature, continuation vehicles are becoming an increasingly important tool, enabling managers to offer LPs liquidity as well as exposure to well‑performing assets,” said Edward Goldstein, Partner and CIO of Coller Credit Secondaries.  

The transaction allows original LPs to sell or roll, while Ares continues to manage the portfolio through its remaining lifecycle alongside both new and existing investors.  

“This transaction underscores the strength of the evolving secondaries market, the increasing liquidity options available to investors in private credit and our commitment to delivering attractive returns for our investors,” added Mitchell Goldstein, Co‑Head of Ares Credit. 

The deal builds on Coller’s growing credit franchise, following a $3 billion credit-focused continuation vehicle with TPG Twin Brook Capital Partners in August 2025 and the $6.8 billion raised for its Coller Credit Opportunities II platform.  

More recently, the firm closed Coller International Partners IX, bringing capital raised for its global private equity secondaries platform to $17 billion and total assets under management to about $50 billion across private equity, private credit, and other private market strategies. 

As of December 31, 2025, Ares managed nearly $623 billion in assets globally. 

PJT Partners served as financial adviser on the transaction, with Kirkland & Ellis advising Coller and Proskauer Rose advising Ares.