About This Fund
The Natixis Direct Lending Fund is a private credit vehicle being established by Natixis SA, the French banking and financial services group, to expand its direct lending capabilities beyond the institution's balance sheet. As of May 2025, Natixis was in advanced discussions to raise approximately $1.5 billion for the fund, with the fundraising expected to conclude within months of that date. The fund represents a strategic evolution for Natixis, whose prior direct lending activity was conducted primarily through balance sheet commitments of up to $25 million per transaction targeting companies likely to become leveraged loan market borrowers.
The Natixis Direct Lending Fund targets senior and unitranche loans to highly leveraged corporate borrowers, with a focus on providing scalable credit to mid-to-large companies across European markets. The vehicle is designed to complement Natixis's existing leveraged finance and structured credit capabilities, allowing the institution to deploy third-party capital alongside or in lieu of balance sheet exposure. The strategy enables Natixis to service its corporate lending client base with larger ticket sizes while managing balance sheet risk, addressing demand from institutional investors seeking yield in the private credit space.
The fund launch comes following a significant restructuring of Natixis's private credit operations: in September 2024, Natixis Investment Managers divested MV Credit — a pan-European private credit business with approximately $5.1 billion in AUM managing senior direct lending, subordinated lending, hybrid and CLO strategies — to Clearlake Capital Group. The new Direct Lending Fund positions Natixis to rebuild its private credit presence through a focused direct origination strategy anchored in the firm's established European corporate lending relationships.