Todd Boehly’s investment house in advanced talks to buy private credit firm

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US financier Todd Boehly’s investment house is in advanced talks to buy European private credit firm Hayfin Capital Management, according to people familiar with the matter. 

A deal would give Boehly’s Eldridge Industries a foothold in the fast-growing market for lending to private European companies, building on its investments spanning insurance, asset management, technology, media and real estate. 

Hayfin has more than €30bn in assets under management, across direct lending, special opportunities and high-yield credit.

The proposed deal values Hayfin at more than €1bn, one of the people briefed on the situation said.

Boehly, Eldridge’s co-founder and chief executive, led a group in 2022 that bought Chelsea Football Club in a high-profile £4.25bn deal.

He also co-owns the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and the LA Lakers basketball team.

Connecticut-headquartered Eldridge did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hayfin, which has its headquarters in London, declined to comment.

The private credit market has taken off in recent years after some banks shied away from lending in the wake of the global financial crisis. 

The IMF estimates the size of the global private credit industry at more than $2tn, most of which is in the US, rivalling the high-yield and leveraged-loan markets.

The retreat of some banks from the lending market has prompted businesses which began life as buyout firms, including Blackstone and KKR, to develop large private credit arms.

Meanwhile, asset managers such as Franklin Templeton have also acquired private credit firms in an effort to profit from growing investor demand for the activity.

Hayfin was founded in 2009 by two former Goldman Sachs bankers, with backing from private equity firm TowerBrook Capital Partners.

In 2017, investors including TowerBrook sold Hayfin to British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, a Canadian pension plan. 

Since then, Hayfin has grown its assets under management nearly fourfold to more than €30bn, and it now employs more than 200 people across Europe, the US and Asia.

Last year, the firm raised more than €6bn for its largest fund, which lends money to private companies.