Benefit Street, Diameter Form Private Credit Venture With Stifel

Stifel Financial Corp. is forming a new direct-lending joint venture with partners including a credit manager owned by Franklin Resources Inc. amid a growing wave of such partnerships.

Stifel has agreed to team up with Franklin’s Benefit Street Partners and Diameter Capital Partners on the venture, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The focus is on unitranche loans — a blend of senior and subordinated debt, and the parties have begun discussing underwriting and originating loans for borrowers, said one of the people, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential information.

The pact with Stifel doesn’t preclude the credit ...