french asset manager Eurazeo has closed its largest direct lending fund yet at €3.9 billion (about $4.5 billion), exceeding its target by almost a third, making it one of the few European credit managers raising capital in a difficult market.
Eurazeo Private Debt VII, which focuses on lending to lower middle market companies across Europe, attracted total commitments of €5.5 billion, including separately managed accounts and private equity capital. International investors account for more than 60% of commitments, with North American and Asian LPs among the most active, the firm said.
The closing comes at a difficult time for global private debt fundraising. PitchBook Global Private Debt Annual Report 2025 shows that 55 direct lending funds reached their final close in 2025, raising a combined total of $101.7 billion, a year-on-year decline in both fund count and capital raised, even as direct lending maintained its dominant share of private debt fundraising.
More broadly, private debt saw its third consecutive year of decline in funding numbers, even as total capital raised remained broadly stable at around $221 billion. Additionally, 93% of all private debt capital raised in 2025 went to experienced managers (those on their fourth fund or later), a record proportion.
The same report also showed that European private debt funds raised $79.4 billion in 2025, but excluding the two largest closings, for Ares Management and CVC Capital Partnersand the region’s share of global fundraising falls back in line with historical norms, according to PitchBook data.
For Eurazeo, EPD VII represents a significant step forward, being approximately 1.7 times the size of its 2023 predecessor, in line with the average 1.5 times increase recorded in European mid-market fund closings in the first quarter of 2026, according to PitchBook. Breakdown of the European EP in the first quarter of 2026.
The fund is already 65% deployed in more than 70 companies; However, the broader environment for private credit deployment is more complicated.
PitchBook LCD data shows that Spreads in European direct lending agreements they have barely budged, averaging 509 basis points in the 12 months to April 2026 (slightly below the full-year 2025 reading of 522 basis points), even as US spreads have widened by 50 to 100 basis points. The tighter pricing reflects intense competition, with the largest direct lenders pushed down the size ladder as a resurgent, widely syndicated lending market picks up large-cap deals.
This article originally appeared on PitchBook News.