Ares closes US$8.2bn of direct lending commitments in second quarter

Ares Management’s credit funds closed approximately US$8.2bn of US direct lending commitments across 69 transactions during the second quarter of 2026, highlighting the continued scale of private credit deployment into sponsor-backed companies.

The alternative asset manager said its US direct lending commitments totalled approximately US$52.3bn across 347 transactions during the 12 months ended 30 June. The figures represent commitments rather than amounts necessarily drawn by borrowers at closing.

Ares acted in administrative agent, arranger or bookrunner roles on several senior secured facilities during the quarter. These included financing supporting Mill Point Capital-backed AeriTek’s acquisition of refrigeration-equipment manufacturer NRAC and Advent International’s acquisition of engineering and construction-management group Atwell.

The manager also provided acquisition financing for Monomoy Capital Partners’ purchase of Jiffy Lube International and BayPine’s acquisition of insurance brokerage Relation Insurance. Other commitments supported the growth of companies operating in aerospace maintenance, precision manufacturing, road-safety services, building maintenance and wealth management.

The range of borrowers illustrates the breadth of direct lending beyond technology and business-services companies. The selected transactions covered asset-intensive and operationally complex sectors including aerospace, refrigeration, infrastructure services and high-precision manufacturing, although Ares did not disclose the individual facility sizes, pricing or maturities.

Second-quarter commitment volume was lower than the US$9.5bn across 70 transactions reported for the first quarter. The rolling 12-month figure also eased from US$53bn at the end of March, indicating a modest moderation in deployment rather than a sharp contraction in activity.

Despite that movement, an average of more than US$118m of commitments per second-quarter transaction underlines the capacity that large private-credit platforms can deploy alongside or in place of syndicated bank markets.

For borrowers and financial sponsors, the appeal lies partly in obtaining negotiated senior debt from a concentrated lender group, particularly for acquisitions or growth plans requiring certainty of execution. For fund managers, the challenge is maintaining underwriting standards while substantial pools of institutional capital compete for suitable assets.

Ares reported more than US$671bn of assets under management across its global platform at the end of June.