Partners Group Curbs Hedge Fund Access to EUR 6 Billion Refinancing While Redrawing Its Fund Map

Partners Group is moving on two fronts at once: locking down the creditor base behind three of its portfolio companies and re-engineering the vehicles through which it holds and returns investor money. The Swiss asset manager is refinancing roughly EUR 6 billion of debt across Emeria SASU, Ammega Group BV and Breitling AG, according to a Bloomberg report published yesterday. All three borrowings mature in 2028.

The twist lies in who is allowed to buy the paper. Partners Group is working to keep hedge funds out of the lender group, a defensive move aimed at preserving control over the creditor structure. Activist funds routinely snap up loans on the secondary market ahead of maturities to win leverage in restructurings, and restrictive covenants are the manager's answer to that playbook.

Buyout Desk Slims Down as Credit Takes the Wheel

Those debt negotiations sit alongside a broader reshuffle of priorities. Partners Group has cut or redeployed roles across its private equity unit — a division of more than 200 staff — with positions shifted into infrastructure and royalties, Bloomberg reported. Several hierarchy levels were affected. Management's stated aim is sharper performance at a time when investors are watching private markets more closely than ever; the firm itself says team sizes remain within their long-term average.

New money is flowing elsewhere. A global multi-sector strategy for private credit income launched through an open-ended evergreen vehicle, open to institutions and private wealth clients alike, with returns expected to come mainly from running yield. An existing evergreen private equity strategy has also been extended to give investors more flexibility.

Splitting the Flagship, Winding Up a Listed Vehicle

The fund shelf is being rebuilt too. Partners Group has put forward a plan to convert its Global Value SICAV flagship — net asset value EUR 6.6 billion — into an umbrella structure with two sub-portfolios. One sleeve targets long-term capital appreciation; the other is built to realise gains already accrued. Separately, shareholders of London-listed Partners Group Private Equity Limited voted to liquidate the fund company, shelving a planned restructuring in favour of an orderly sale of the entire portfolio. That decision touches only the listed fund, not Partners Group Holding AG.

Deal flow has not stalled. On Wednesday the firm joined a USD 180 million financing round for technology provider Scanntech as co-lead, alongside lead investor L Catterton, under its private equity growth strategy. Its in-house private credit platform refinanced DELABO.group through a unitranche structure on Monday. And on 6 October, Middle River Power — part of an infrastructure business Partners Group acquired for clients in 2025 — completed its purchase of the Panoche Energy Center, a fully contracted 427-megawatt gas-fired plant in California, bought from a fund of Ares Infrastructure Equity.

A Share Price Still Playing Catch-Up

Market sentiment has been cautious for months, with investors scrutinising valuations and liquidity flows in unlisted holdings. Partners Group shares closed Friday at EUR 655.20, leaving a 38% decline since the start of the year despite a modest stabilisation into the weekend. The stock sits only slightly above its 52-week low of EUR 623.00. Whether the disciplined handling of the creditor side at its largest holdings can rebuild confidence will hinge on the terms of the final loan agreements.