Wall Street Gets Seat at Private Credit Table With Ardonagh Coup

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s attempt to elbow their way into a multi-billion financing for Ardonagh Group Ltd. shows banks are back in the world of leveraged finance. It also shows private credit is here to stay.

The banks swayed the UK insurance broker to divert nearly half of a $5 billion financing that private lenders led by Ares Management Corp. had agreed to provide to the broadly syndicated market, where junk bonds have staged a rally in recent weeks. Ardonagh is now looking to raise $2 billion through a sale of secured and unsecured bonds on ...