Goldman Sachs Alternatives announced that it has launched a new open-ended, semi-liquid European private credit strategy (GSEC) that will benefit from the firm’s 28-year track record as a leader in European private credit. This launch continues the firm’s successful efforts to expand access to its Alternatives platform for professional investors (including qualified individuals).
GSEC was seeded in Q4 2023 and has attracted strong interest, with more than €550 million equity raised from investors. The strategy has paid its first distribution to investors and has committed to 23 private credit portfolio companies.
Goldman Sachs Alternatives has invested in private credit in Europe since 1996 – building deep relationships with companies and financial sponsors and navigating multiple economic cycles and market environments. The private credit business has invested approximately $180 billion since its inception and is one of the largest platforms globally, with a deep local presence in key markets across the US, Europe, and Asia.
The senior direct lending strategy has over $65 billion in assets under supervision and has invested in over 440 companies in that time. And drawing on the sourcing capabilities of Goldman Sachs – which has an expansive network amongst the corporate and financial sponsor community – the team seeks to build portfolios of directly originated and senior secured debt from medium to large size borrowers. This strategy targets companies with defensive positions in non-cyclical, recession-resilient industries. The strategy continues Goldman Sachs’ ambitions to expand access to its $450 billion alternatives platform and provide new channels through which certain qualified and professional individual investors can access the performance and diversification benefits of private markets.
The launch of GSEC follows the close of Private Markets ELTIF 2023 – which was launched last year to provide direct exposure to a range of investments across sectors and strategies in private markets.
KEY QUOTES:
“We believe we have a differentiated position as a leading incumbent in the direct lending markets in Europe and globally. We continue to see the European private credit market as an active source of stable returns for investors and we are pleased to continue finding ways for investors to access these markets.”
– James Reynolds, Global Head of Direct Lending at Goldman Sachs Alternatives
“Similar to the US, we’ve seen significant investor demand for an open-ended semi-liquid private credit product and we are continuously developing solutions to satisfy that demand.”
– Stephanie Rader, global co-head of Alternatives Capital Formation at Goldman Sachs Alternatives
