Ares Management Corporation announced that funds managed by its Credit Group closed approximately $12.8 billion in U.S. direct lending commitments across 93 transactions during the second quarter of 2024 and approximately $38.3 billion in direct lending commitments across 295 transactions in the 12 months ended June 30, 2024. The $38.3 billion of commitments over the 12-month period represents a new record for the U.S. Direct Lending business. Below is a description of selected transactions that Ares closed during the second quarter of 2024.
Accertify / Accel-KKR
Ares served as the administrative agent, sole lead arranger and book runner for a senior secured credit facility to support Accel-KKR's acquisition of Accertify. Accertify is a leading provider of fraud prevention, chargeback management, account protection, and payment gateway solutions.
Bluegrass Ingredients / TA Associates
Ares served as the administrative agent, sole lead arranger and sole book runner for a senior secured credit facility to support TA Associates' acquisition of Bluegrass Ingredients. Bluegrass Ingredients develops and manufactures customized natural and clean label flavorings, primarily specialty dairy powders, for the food & beverage end market.
Community Veterinary Partners ("CVP") / OMERS Private Equity
Ares served as the administrative agent, joint lead arranger and joint book runner for a senior secured credit facility to support the sponsor's continued growth plans for CVP. CVP is a leading veterinary network and operator of vet hospitals with 140+ practices across 18 states with regional density in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Dotmatics / Insight Partners
Ares served as the administrative agent, joint lead arranger and joint book runner for a senior secured credit facility to support the sponsor's continued growth plans for Dotmatics. Dotmatics is a premier provider of data analytics, statistics and graphing software solutions for scientific research applications.
Elida Beauty / Yellow Wood Partners
Ares served as the administrative agent, joint lead arranger and joint book runner for a senior secured credit facility to support Yellow Wood Partners' acquisition of Elida Beauty. Elida Beauty is a personal care platform that markets and distributes consumer brands in North America, Europe and throughout the globe.
HuFriedy Group / Peak Rock Capital
Ares served as administrative agent and joint lead arranger for a senior secured credit facility to support Peak Rock Capital's acquisition of HuFriedy Group. HuFriedy is a market-leading manufacturer and marketer of dental instruments, infection prevention & control products, and conscious sedation equipment.
Pye Barker Fire & Safety / Leonard Green & Partners and Altas Partners
Ares served as the joint lead arranger for a senior secured credit facility to support the sponsors' continued growth plans for Pye Barker. Pye Barker is a market leading provider of highly recurring, non-discretionary, and non-deferrable fire protection services to commercial customers in a variety of end markets across the United States.
Quick Quack Car Wash / Seidler Equity Partners, KKR and Management
Ares served as the joint lead arranger and joint book runner for a senior secured credit facility to support the continued growth plans for Quick Quack. Quick Quack is a leading express car wash platform with locations across California, Texas, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado.
Reddy Ice / Stone Canyon Industries
Ares served as the administrative agent, lead arranger and joint book runner for a senior secured credit facility to support the sponsor in executing on the Company's acquisition strategy and continued growth plans. Reddy Ice is a leading packaged ice producer and distributor in North America, providing bagged ice to customer locations across the Central, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and West regions of the U.S.
RLDatix / TA Associates and Five Arrows Capital
Ares served as a lender for a senior secured credit facility to support the sponsors' continued growth plans for RLDatix. RLDatix is a global provider of Connect Healthcare Operations including patient safety, compliance and workforce management software for the healthcare industry.
Sunvair Aerospace Group / Greenbriar Equity Partners
Ares served as the administrative agent, sole lead arranger and book runner for a senior secured credit facility to support Greenbriar Equity Partners' acquisition of Sunvair. Sunvair is a global provider of aircraft component maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, specializing in engineering-centric aircraft accessory repair and landing gear overhauls.