Pantheon Takes Lead on Record $3.2 Billion Private Credit Continuation Vehicle

Pantheon has taken the lead on a substantial GP-led credit secondaries deal as activity within the asset class continues to heat up. Crescent Capital Group has secured a $3.2 billion continuation vehicle, according to a statement. The deal represents the largest credit secondaries CV to date, according to analysis from Jefferies, which advised on the deal. Other investors in the CV include Allianz Global Investors, which co-led the deal, as well as Hamilton Lane, Dawson Partners, Ares’ credit secondaries funds and Antares Capital. Crescent Credit Solutions VII CV acquired a portfolio of sponsor-backed loans and securities and other equity interests from the 2016-vintage Crescent Mezzanine Partners VII, the statement said. CMP VII raised $4.6 billion against a $3 billion target, data from affiliate title Private Debt Investor shows. The transaction “represents another milestone in the evolution of the credit secondaries market and continues Pantheon’s leadership and innovation in GP liquidity solutions”, Rakesh Jain, global head of private credit at Pantheon, said in the statement. “This continuation vehicle structure allowed us to offer a range of options for existing investors while positioning the CCS VII CV portfolio for continued success over an investment horizon reflective of current market trends and conditions,” Jason Breaux, head of private credit at Crescent added. The GP-led credit secondaries market has grown substantially in recent years, with deal sizes also on the up. In another sizeable transaction closed late last year, TPG Twin Brook Capital Partners raised a $3 billion CV to acquire a portfolio of floating-rate, senior secured, sponsor-backed loans from TPG Twin Brook’s 2016- and 2018-vintage funds. Coller Capital led the deal. Pantheon was on track to have deployed approximately $3.4 billion into credit secondaries transactions by the end of Q3, surpassing the $3 billion it deployed in such deals throughout 2024, Jain told Secondaries Investor in August. At that time, Pantheon projected roughly $40 billion to $50 billion in annual investment opportunities across the asset class, significantly up from $36 billion in 2024 and $24 billion in 2023. Private credit deals represented 11 percent of the $106 billion in GP-led volume seen in 2025 and 7 percent of the $120 billion in LP-led volume, according to Evercore’s year-end report. “In terms of what’s going on in 2025 in credit secondaries, it continues to be another stair-step growth in both deal-flow and opportunity in our market,” Jain said in August. Pantheon closed Pantheon Credit Opportunities III and related vehicles on $2.2 billion in July. In April, it raised $5.2 billion for its senior credit secondaries fund, Pantheon Senior Debt III, and related vehicles.