The troubles of international evergreen private credit vehicles is impacting the private equity sector. In February and March 2026 NYSE-listed leading firms Blue Owl, BlackRock, Morgan Stanely, and Blackstone restricted redemptions for their investors considering their exposure to the software sector that AI can threaten (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
On 2 June, Tuesday, Bloomberg said that Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund flagship 31.3 billion US Dollars private credit fund capped redemptions at 5% in 2Q26 as investors looked to pull about 17% of shares. The firm said to Bloomberg that shareholders may receive about one-third of their requested money back. Cliffwater ceo and founder Stephen Nesbitt said the repurchase program aims to provide shareholders with periodic liquidity that aligns with the fund’s long-term investment strategy and its underlying assets.
In March 2026, Blackstone Private Credit (BCRED – 45 billion of assets under management) received redemption requests amounting to 7.9% exceeding the standard 5% cap. Blackstone and its own employees injected 400 million US Dollars of equity capital into the fund for meeting all redemption requests, but net outflows were of 1.7 billion. However, the situation got worse, said a SEC file of 4 June, Thursday.
Blackstone said: “The fund offers quarterly share buybacks of up to 5% of the outstanding shares, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, with requests met on a pro rata basis if they exceed the approved amount. In 1Q26, the fund met 100% of buyback requests, with Blackstone and employees investing alongside shareholders to strengthen alignment of interests, and the Board of Directors increased the buyback limit beyond 5% to meet all requests at 7%. In 2Q26, redemption requests amounted to approximately 10% of outstanding units, and, as planned, BCRED will satisfy redemption requests equal to 5% of outstanding shares. Capital inflows amounted to approximately 2% of NAV, resulting in a net outflow of approximately 3% of NAV, in line with the first quarter. Buyback activity slowed in the second half of the offer period, with onshore volumes below the levels of the previous quarter. More recently, we have seen an acceleration in gross fundraising for Blackstone’s other Private Wealth products. We find ourselves in an investment environment that we consider particularly challenging for direct corporate lending. Following a period of volatility at the start of the year, markets are stabilising and investment activity is picking up, albeit with wider spreads compared to the previous quarter. In the first quarter alone, BCRED invested over $4 billion, and during the quarter, the fund committed to participating in a portion of a $10 billion senior secured financing round, led by Blackstone, for the artificial intelligence infrastructure platform Firmus Technologies “.
On 4 June, Thursday, Partners Group said in a press release that the sector experienced a period of high volatility in the cash flows of open-ended evergreen funds. This trend began in private credit vehicles and recently spread to private equity. These dynamics affected two of the firm’s private equity evergreen funds available through the private wealth management channel. In 2Q26, Luxembourg’sprivate equity evergreen fund Partners Group Global Value SICAV (GV SICAV) faced redemption requests amounting to approximately 9.8% of NAV. Furthermore, following the closure of the latest tender offer window in May 2026, the company estimates that redemption requests for a Delaware-domiciled evergreen private equity vehicle will be slightly above the 5% threshold set by the tender offer for this period, standing at approximately 6% of NAV. The exact value of the repurchase requests, as well as the exact amount to be repurchased, will be determined by the end of July in accordance with the fund’s standard procedures. Three further mature evergreen funds that attracted institutional investors resources for a total of 9.7 billion could face redemptions of 3.5% – 5% in 2Q26. Partners Group consistently said to clients and market participants that its evergreen vehicles generally have liquidity caps of up to 5% of quarterly NAV. GV SICAV will therefore operate with a quarterly liquidity cap of 5%. The company is ready to apply the relevant liquidity restriction mechanism to other funds as well.
”However, the company assured that gross demand from new clients expected for 2026 will stand at between 26 billion and 32 billion and receive the support of a broad and visible stream of fundraising opportunities through mandates, evergreen funds and traditional closed-end programmes”. The confirmation contributed to a partial recovery in the shares, which plummeted by 16% on Wednesday, hitting a six-year low. The slump in Partners Group’s shares had also spread on Wednesday to European competitors, including Sweden’s EQT, CVC Capital Partners and Bridgepoint Group, and in the US to the shares of Blackstone, KKR, TPG and Ares Management.
