Blackstone Closes €13 Billion Raise Through Fourth Fund and European Lending Vehicles
Key Facts
Blackstone announced on November 4, 2026, the final close of its fourth institutional direct lending fund in Europe, BXDE IV, as part of a raise totaling about €13 billion of investable capital across the fund and other European lending vehicles. The company said the figure includes expected leverage, making it a total for its European platform rather than the fourth fund alone. The close marks a new flow of institutional capital into direct lending, financing provided by non-bank lenders to borrowers. BXDE IV targets high-quality European borrowers across different sizes, with a focus on upper-middle-market and middle-market companies. Brad Marshall, Blackstone's head of private credit strategies, said the fundraising “reflects investor confidence in private credit and our ability to provide large-scale financing through market cycles.”
Blackstone cited deals in which it acted as a lead lender to illustrate the scope of its activity in Europe since the fund's launch. The list included Angelini Pharma's €1.0 billion acquisition of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals. It also included €780 million of financing for Regnology and Odevo's €649 million deal. The company also cited a €382 million JTC deal. According to the statement, these transactions place financing for pharmaceutical, software and property management companies among the activities in which its European lending platform has participated.
Mike Caruthers, Blackstone's head of European credit, said the company believes Europe “remains one of the most attractive private credit markets globally.” He added that borrowers value the “certainty, scale and flexibility” the company offers. Blackstone supports its European credit business with more than 100 investment professionals across five offices in London, Dublin, Frankfurt, Milan and Paris. The company said credit is part of its opportunity to invest in more than $500 billion of European assets by 2035. The estimate places the close within the company's broader regional strategy, according to its statement.
The close comes as pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and insurers remain interested in direct lending vehicles from the largest managers, according to Bloomberg coverage published via Moneycontrol. That coincides with scrutiny of redemption requests and concerns about exposure to software companies, loan quality and valuations. A partner at CVC Credit said some institutions continue to invest because they are “thinking on a 20-year horizon.” That horizon reflects the different needs of institutions able to hold their investments and those of investors with greater liquidity demands. The partner said institutions benefit from contractual cash yield and do not need liquidity from these investments.
The fundraising figures come amid broader growth in Blackstone's business; its total assets under management reached $1,368.3 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 10% year over year. The company recorded inflows of $63.3 billion during the quarter and $271.6 billion in the 12 months ended then. In credit and insurance, inflows totaled $35.8 billion during the quarter, including $11.9 billion for its global direct lending strategy. Across the market, direct lending funds raised $129.15 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 35% from the same period, the highest total for that period in Preqin data since 2016. But estimated lending volume in the third quarter fell 28% year over year to $49.77 billion, according to PitchBook/LCD data cited by Reuters.
Sonaina Sinha Halldia, head of global private capital advisory at Raymond James, said the gap between fundraising and deployment is increasing pressure to put capital to work. In the third quarter of 2026, $16.39 billion of direct lending loans were refinanced in the broadly syndicated loan market, compared with $2.60 billion of syndicated loans moving into direct lending. Sinha Halldia said abundant capital and scarce deals could pressure spreads, leverage and documentation terms. In the European market, ICG is targeting €15 billion for its sixth direct lending fund, according to coverage published in September 2026. These developments highlight continued fundraising alongside competition to deploy capital in lending deals.