Private Credit Sells Debt to Insurers in Back-to-Future Twist

The new world of private credit is turning to an old way of raising money, with fund managers increasingly placing debt with insurance companies as public markets become less inviting.

Firms including Blackstone Inc., Blue Owl Capital Inc., HPS Investment Partners, Morgan Stanley and New Mountain Capital have all used insurers in the past year to privately place at least a combined $1.4 billion of unsecured debt for their business development companies, a favored investment vehicle for US private credit managers, according to public filings.

“Insurance companies as lenders have become a much more popular pool of ...