Carlyle forms Australia, New Zealand private credit joint venture

The goal it to build and manage a diversified portfolio of opportunistic private debt investments in Australia and New Zealand, leveraging Amicaa’s local sourcing expertise and the tools, processes, and specialist resources of Carlyle’s global credit platform, according to a statement.

There will be two primary strategies: a core-plus offering, aimed at superannuation and private wealth investors, that will focus on delivering stable, income-oriented returns from corporate loan investments; and a credit opportunities product that provides tailored financing solutions to companies going through transition, typically involving acquisitions, growth, or refinancing.

Amicaa was formed in 2019 by David Wood, who previously led Australia and New Zealand investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Cathy Hales, formerly global head of Fidante Partners a fund management arm of Challenger Group. David Hoskins, another Challenger alumnus, recently joined as a co-founder and head of private credit.

Carlyle will be represented in the joint venture by Taj Sidhu, a managing director in its global credit business, and Jay Ditmarsch, a member of the team responsible for the Carlyle Credit Opportunities fund series. The firm manages USD 143bn in credit assets globally, while the Credit Opportunities strategy – which will invest in the joint venture – has deployed over USD 8bn since 2017.

Part of the rationale for the partnership is growth opportunities arising from the scaling back of corporate lending activity by traditional banks in Australia and New Zealand. Companies are increasingly looking to private capital to fund acquisitions and other growth initiatives, while financial sponsors are relying more on debt facilities from private credit providers.

Replacing banks as lenders and finding ways to invest in companies that don’t want to take equity funding are commonly cited by PE firms as reasons for getting into private debt in Asia.

Earlier this year, KKR closed its debut Asia credit fund with USD 1.1bn in commitments, while other global alternatives managers are adding headcount in the region. At the same time, some Asia-based managers are targeting similar cross-asset-class expansions. Navis Capital Partners is among the most recent additions, having launched a regional credit unit in July.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Credit/Special Situations
• GPs
• Australia
• New Zealand
• private debt
• Structured finance
• The Carlyle Group