Golub Capital nabs $74 mln for mid-market lending fund

The specialty finance company, a stalwart of leveraged lending, has raised $74 million from 107 investors for Golub Capital Partners 9 LP, a fund series that dates to 2001, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing did not give an indication of the new fund’s target. Golub Capital, which has offices in New York and Chicago, did not respond to requests for comment.

A predecessor fund, Golub Capital Partners VIII LP, attracted $455 million in commitments in 2012, while a companion, Golub Capital Partners International VIII LP, drew $353 million, according to the Thomson One private equity database, which described those vehicles as mezzanine funds. Taken together, the funds handily topped the $500 million target for the fundraising, as a person with knowledge of the plan told Buyouts at the time.

A search of the SEC website showed no companion fund, at least yet, for the latest pool.

Like other non-bank lenders, Golub Capital has been taking advantage of credit investor hunger for yield in an environment of persistently low interest rates. One rival, Chicago-based Monroe Capital LLC, announced in January that it had closed its latest direct lending fund at its $500 million hard cap, well above that pool’s $400 million target.

Founded in 1994, Golub Capital has raised a number of funds over the years in addition to its flagship funds, and it also has employed other financial structures for its lending. For instance, the firm’s in-house business development company, Golub Capital BDC Inc, which went public in April 2010, announced in November that it had more than doubled the size of its senior secured revolving credit facility, to $250 million from $100 million, increasing its own lending capacity.

Golub Capital, with $8 billion of capital under management, provides senior and subordinated loans, including mezzanine and unitranche financing, to mid-market borrowers, as well as preferred stock and co-investment equity, according to its website. The firm also participates in broadly syndicated loans and invests opportunistically in market dislocations, including restructurings and bankruptcy.

The firm is not using a placement agent to raise its latest fund.