PRESS RELEASE
RiverRock announces first close of the RiverRock Senior Loan Fund in Partnership with ING Bank
- Asset sourcing via exclusive loan co-investment agreement with ING Bank N.V.
- A “pure” Western European senior loan strategy
- Significant portion of first close capital already deployed in a diversified portfolio
RiverRock, the European asset manager specialising in private assets, today announced the first close for the RiverRock Senior Loan Fund I (the “Fund”). The Fund attracted €344 million in approved commitments from major institutional investors in Europe and Asia, primarily from insurance companies and banks.
The Fund continues the broader European Direct Lending strategy that RiverRock has offered to institutional investors since 2011. The Fund is the first RiverRock fund to partner with the origination platform of a major European bank.
The Fund invests in senior secured loans only, typically of borrowers domiciled in Europe and having annual turnover of €500 million with EBITDA of €100 million. The Fund applies ESG+ criteria to all investments.
The Fund has deployed a significant portion of first-close commitments to a number of companies across Western Europe, all with strong competitive positions in their sectors. The fully ramped portfolio will include 75 to 80 loans.
Michel Péretié, Partner and CEO of RiverRock, said “The strategy is another successful step for RiverRock as we continue to build our platform to provide investors access to unique and otherwise-inaccessible assets to genuinely diversify their portfolios.”
Isabel Fernandez, Member Management Board Banking, Head of Wholesale Banking at ING Bank, said “Partnering up with RiverRock allows us to be more relevant for our borrowing clients, being able to support larger stakes than our own balance sheet or capital positions allows, whilst at the same time giving investors access to our strong origination activity. It is a clear example of our increased focus on Originate-to-Share”
Inder Bir Singh, Partner and Head of Asset Management at RiverRock, said “With our exclusive co-investment relationship with ING Bank, RiverRock has exceptional visibility of capital deployment given ING’s strong pipeline as a Top-5 player in the European leveraged loan space. We believe the Fund offers an excellent risk-return profile with quality Western European senior loans impossible to access for most investors.”
Theo Korver, Managing Director and Global Head of Balance Sheet Distribution at ING Bank, said “In a true partnership both parties have to show willingness to commit. As a result we have spent a lot of time making sure the fiduciary duties of RiverRock can be met whilst working towards a quick deployment of funds in the way the eligibility criteria have been drafted.”