Blackstone taps bond market as private credit BDCs end issuance drought

Initial price talk on the five-year notes is set at a spread of around 2.55 percentage points above the benchmark.

The deal is expected to price this week, with Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Royal Bank of Canada, and Wells Fargo Securities acting as bookrunners. Blackstone last accessed the market in January, when it raised $700m.

The move follows a flurry of similar transactions from rival private credit managers. On 13 April, Blue Owl Capital sold $400m in notes in what was the first BDC high-grade bond deal since February, purchased in its entirety by PIMCO. The following day, a Goldman Sachs private credit fund raised $750m.

The renewed issuance activity comes against a more complicated backdrop for the private credit industry. Concerns over AI-disrupted software investments and loosening lending standards have unsettled a sector that had, until recently, enjoyed a prolonged period of strong momentum

The return to bond markets by some of private equity’s largest credit platforms suggests managers are moving to shore up their funding positions, even as the broader operating environment grows more uncertain.

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