Churchill Asset Management LLC, an investment-specialist affiliate of Nuveen providing customized financing solutions to private equity firms and their portfolio companies, today announced that it has completed fundraising for Churchill Middle Market Senior Loan Fund II (and related investment vehicles) with $2 billion in limited partner commitments, exceeding its original target of $1 billion.
The Fund, an unlevered vehicle that invests in traditional senior and unitranche loans to private equity sponsor-backed U.S. middle market companies, is the firm’s second commingled fund offering since becoming an affiliate of TIAA/Nuveen in 2015. The Fund attracted equity commitments from a diverse base of institutional clients globally, including several large pension plans and insurance companies, based in Europe, North America and Asia.
“We are very proud to build upon Churchill’s successful middle market senior lending strategy with this latest offering,” said Ken Kencel, President & Chief Executive Officer of Churchill. “The strong level of support received from institutions across the globe provided further evidence that investors recognize Churchill’s leadership position in the middle market, as well as the value of our longstanding private equity sponsor relationships, unique sourcing model and disciplined investment approach.”
Churchill now manages nearly $23 billion of committed capital, including more than $8 billion dedicated to the firm’s senior lending strategy through a variety of investment vehicles, including separately managed accounts, collateralized loan obligations, commingled funds and a business development company. Churchill’s senior lending investment team has worked together for 14 years funding nearly $13 billion of middle market senior loans in approximately 620 transactions with over 190 private equity sponsors.
In recognition of its industry-leading platform, Churchill was recently named both “2019 USA Lender of the Year” and “2019 Americas Lender of the Year” by The Global M&A Network, in addition to “2019 Lender Firm of the Year” by The M&A Advisor. Further, Churchill was ranked as one of the top three “Most Active Lenders to Private Equity-Backed U.S. Middle Market Companies” in 2019 by Pitchbook.