Antares Capital Advisers LLC, a subsidiary of Antares Capital LP announced the closing of Antares CLO 2017-1, LTD., a $2.1 billion collateralized loan obligation (CLO). The CLO represents the largest CLO issued in the U.S. since 2006, and the third largest CLO in history.

Antares CLO 2017-1, LTD will invest in leveraged loans to middle market, private equity-backed companies.

“The successful close of our CLO is a testament to Antares’ track record of strong performance through market cycles and our ability to be highly selective in choosing the borrowers we support,” said Vivek Mathew, head of structured products for Antares. “We are very pleased with the reception we received from the market, and we look forward to future issuances.”

“This is a meaningful step in continuing to diversify our funding sources while providing investors access to middle market private debt, an increasingly attractive sector,” said Barry Giarraputo, CFO for Antares.

Investors in the CLO include banks, pension funds, insurance companies and asset managers.