British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (“BCI”), one of Canada’s largest institutional investors, has completed a US$200 million anchor investment in the newly launched, Europe-focused, Arini Direct Lending Fund (“the Fund”) as part of the recently announced alliance between Arini Capital Management and Lazard, Inc. (the “Alliance”) to provide bespoke direct lending solutions to mid-market companies across Europe. In addition, BCI plans to invest, at its discretion, an additional US$400+ million as a co-investor in future European direct lending opportunities.
The Fund is well positioned to meet the rising demand for independent financing and tailored capital solutions among European mid-market companies, as industry dynamics have shifted many lenders up-market. By leveraging Lazard’s extensive corporate advisory network for deal origination and Arini’s deep experience in credit underwriting, the Fund and Alliance offer a differentiated approach to efficiently source attractive opportunities and underwrite private credit investments.
“Our anchor investment in the Fund positions us as a key partner in this differentiated private credit platform, created through the alliance between Arini Capital Management and Lazard, Inc., supporting our strategy to geographically diversify BCI’s Partnership Portfolio. The opportunity to co-invest with Arini in other exclusive lending opportunities will also provide BCI with more targeted exposure to various segments of the European market,” said Daniel Garant, Executive Vice President & Global Head, Public Markets at BCI. “This initiative not only provides us access to Europe’s vibrant private credit sector, but also positions us well to help deliver high-quality, risk-adjusted returns for our clients, while fostering the growth of dynamic mid-market businesses.”
The Fund will focus on a diversified mix of senior and junior debt, targeting resilient, risk-adjusted performance. Co-investment opportunities for BCI are expected to arise when facility sizes are too large for the Fund based on portfolio concentration limits.