We advised Muzinich & Co, the corporate credit management specialist, on the launch and in relation to the leveraged financing of its first European Long-Term Investment Fund (ELTIF), Muzinich Firstlight Middle Market ELTIF, which has announced its final closing at EUR 450 million, leverage included.

This fund will seek to invest mostly in debt instruments, and may also invest in bonds and junior investment opportunities. As an ELTIF, it is available for investment by retail investors Europe, allowing them access to long-term asset classes historically only available to professional investors. It is one of the first Luxembourg-based ELTIFs to be launched and perhaps the only which is using leveraged financing solutions.

Our fund formation and regulatory team included Marc Meyers and Tobias Niehl, while our fund finance team was composed of Vassiliyan Zanev, Maude Royer and Mélanie Duval.

The ELTIF is a European label for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) which invest in companies and projects that need long-term capital, and may raise capital from retail investors (based on the European passport). In order to benefit from such label, ELTIFs are subject to specific investment and borrowing restrictions under the EU ELTIF Regulation. Such considerations required tailor-made structuring solutions to successfully put in place the financing arrangements and the security package.