Private Credit Giant Ares Is Seeing More Defense Opportunities in Europe

Overview

Ares Management, the $550 billion alternative investor, expects private lenders to get more involved in funding Europe’s rearmament. “We are starting to see more defense opportunities come across the desk,” Mike Dennis, the company’s co-head of European credit, tells Bloomberg News’ James Crombie and Bloomberg Intelligence’s Jeroen Julius in this episode of the Credit Edge podcast. “We would tend to be cautious — we need to listen to what our LPs’ appetite for those types of businesses are,” says Dennis, referring to Ares’ limited partners and their environmental, social and governance concerns. Dennis and Julius also discuss middle-market loan pricing, private-credit returns and where Ares might look to open up new offices in Europe.