Key Takeaways:
Ares Management and Antares Capital have formed a continuation fund of more than $1.7 billion, signaling a major push into the burgeoning private credit secondary market and providing a liquidity solution for assets in a closed-end fund. The deal, announced March 30, 2026, is one of the largest of its kind.
"This transaction highlights the growing demand for liquidity solutions in the private credit space," a representative for the firms said in a statement. "Continuation funds allow us to provide existing investors with the option for liquidity while enabling us to continue managing high-quality assets over a longer term."
The new vehicle will purchase a portfolio of over 300 first-lien, floating-rate loans originated and managed by Antares. This marks the second such collaboration between the two firms in the last year, following a similar $1.2 billion continuation fund in 2025 that involved over 100 loans. Antares will continue to manage the portfolio in the new fund.
The deal underscores a broader trend where asset managers are using continuation vehicles to hold onto prized assets amid a sluggish environment for initial public offerings and traditional asset sales. The private credit secondary market is expanding rapidly, with deal volume projected to surpass $14 billion in 2025, up from over $12 billion in 2024 and $9.8 billion in 2023, according to data from Campbell Lutyens.
The market for private credit secondaries has seen a significant influx of capital, with investors increasingly comfortable with the asset class. Five of the largest credit secondary funds ever raised closed within the past year. This includes a vehicle from Ares Management that secured $7.1 billion in January and a $6.8 billion pool that London-based Coller Capital closed last July, according to PitchBook data. This fundraising success reflects strong investor appetite for strategies that can provide both yield and liquidity in the private markets.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
