Partners Group Builds Out Sports and Nordic Footprint While Weighing €800 Million Credit Vehicle

Swiss asset manager considers an EUR 800 million continuation fund for private credit holdings, alongside a sports agency stake and a Stockholm office.

Partners Group has moved on several fronts in recent weeks, pairing a fresh push into sports and Nordic markets with a plan to keep some of its credit bets running longer than their original fund terms would allow.

The Swiss asset manager is considering a continuation fund of roughly EUR 800 million, according to Bloomberg, a vehicle that would house private credit holdings drawn from several existing funds and give investors the option of cashing out or rolling their money into the longer-dated structure. Such deals have become a fixture of the industry as legacy fund lives wind down and managers look to hold on to assets they would rather not sell into a soft market. For Partners Group, the appeal is twofold: it keeps fee-generating positions under its own roof while handing limited partners a clear exit-or-stay choice.

Sports, Data Centers and a Stockholm Desk

Alongside that portfolio housekeeping, the firm has been adding selectively. On Tuesday it confirmed a partnership with SEG, the international sports talent agency, becoming the agency's largest outside shareholder and committing substantial capital to expand its global platform. The deal follows a September 2 move by Partners Group's infrastructure secondaries strategy to take a 10 percent stake in data center operator atNorth — a business the firm had previously sold to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Equinix through its infrastructure directs arm. A September 10 office opening in Stockholm rounded out the stretch, extending the group's long-term presence across the Nordic region. Partners Group also provided a EUR 300 million financing package for MDT Technologies.

Fundraising Holds, Success-Fee Outlook Trimmed

Those operational steps landed roughly three weeks after the firm reported first-half 2026 results. Assets under management stood at USD 186 billion as of June 30, 2026, lifted by USD 16 billion of fundraising over the six months. Management income came in at CHF 905 million, a 12 percent increase before currency effects, while EBITDA reached CHF 706 million at a 63 percent operating margin. Performance income totaled CHF 216 million, equal to 19 percent of revenue, and group profit was CHF 502 million.

Management kept its full-year gross new-client demand target unchanged at USD 26 billion to USD 32 billion, but narrowed the expected contribution from performance income to roughly 20 to 25 percent of total revenue.

Leadership Handover Set for 2027

A leadership reshuffle announced about two weeks ago will take effect on January 1, 2027. CEO David Layton moves into the chief investment officer role, with Roberto Cagnati and Juri Jenkner stepping up as co-CEOs from that date.

Shares Sit Just Above a 52-Week Low

Morgan Stanley rated the stock "Hold" with a CHF 775 price target on September 3. The market has been less forgiving: the shares closed Friday at EUR 648.60, barely 0.4 percent above their 52-week low of EUR 646.00, and are down 39 percent since the start of the year. The proposed credit vehicle offers a window into how management intends to steer existing commitments more flexibly while it waits for sentiment to turn.