Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund (CELFX), an interval fund providing access to alternative private credit strategies, has announced the closing of a senior secured syndicated revolving credit facility. The Facility is led by PNC Bank as administrative agent and joint lead arranger and Barings as joint lead arranger through the Barings Portfolio Finance team.
Under the Facility, which closed on July 19, 2024, the lenders have agreed to extend credit to the Fund in an aggregate amount of $1.175 billion with an option to request that existing and/or new lenders provide up to $2.0 billion. The Facility will mature on July 19, 2029.
The Fund intends to utilize the Facility to support continued growth in the balance sheet coinciding with the Fund's continued pace of equity inflows. As of June 30, 2024, CELFX has approximately $3.4 billion in net assets, up from approximately $2.5 billion as of December 31, 2023.
"We are excited about the closing of this important facility for CELFX. Having recently crossed three years of performance, this transaction enhances the flexibility of our balance sheet so that we can continue pursuing our goal of delivering the best investor experience for years to come," Stephen Nesbitt, Portfolio Manager of CELFX and CEO of Cliffwater.
"This facility provides CELFX with both immediate robust liquidity and a pathway to continued equity growth. We thank our lender partners for their continued support." Daniel Lepore, Managing Director and Head of Liability Management.
CELFX invests across the private debt spectrum, including diversifying sub-asset classes with lower correlation to traditional risk assets, to tap into unique risk premiums to pursue high current income and, secondarily, capital appreciation. The fund provides immediate exposure to niche strategies in one efficient solution that would be costly and challenging for investors to replicate. As of June 30, 2024, CELFX has $3.4 billion in net asset value and approximately $3.7 billion in total gross assets. Since inception, CELFX has delivered a net annualized total return of 13.16%. The broad-based portfolio was invested across 13 private debt strategies with an average look-through exposure to any single issuer of less than 0.1%.
Cliffwater LLC serves as the investment adviser of the Fund.