NEW YORK & CHICAGO & SYDNEY -- Monroe Capital, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and MA Asset Management (part of MA Financial Group, ASX: MAF) announced the formation of a new joint venture (“JV”), which will invest up to US$1.7 billion in senior secured loans to U.S. middle market borrowers. The JV harnesses the complementary capabilities of the three partnering institutions to establish a differentiated platform focused on the attractive middle market subset of private credit.

The JV expects to benefit from broad access to high-quality, proprietary deal flow of first-lien senior-secured loans to established middle market companies, leveraging the loan origination capabilities of Monroe Capital’s direct lending infrastructure, SMBC’s established private credit and sponsor finance platform and MA Financial’s expertise in specialty credit and co-lending.

The JV’s investable capital will be provided by Monroe Capital, SMBC and MA Financial (via its managed funds).

Monroe Capital is one of the largest lower middle market direct lenders in the United States, SMBC is a leading global bank with a global middle market sponsor business, and MA Financial is an Australian-headquartered alternative asset manager with an active presence in specialty credit in the United States, for which co-lending is a core strategy.

This joint venture reflects a broader evolution in the private credit landscape, where asset managers and banks are collaborating to provide scalable, differentiated capital solutions to borrowers. With a strong alignment of interests, shared credit philosophies and deep origination channels, the strategic partnership between Monroe Capital, SMBC and MA Financial is well positioned to meet the growing demand for financing in a structurally underserved segment of the market.

“We are excited to partner with MA Financial and SMBC to leverage Monroe’s robust and comprehensive origination platform for middle market transactions in the United States. We continue to innovate new structures to be the financier of choice for lower middle market corporate borrowers and their private equity owners,” said Zia Uddin, President of Monroe Capital.

“By partnering with two leading credit-focused asset management firms, SMBC will enhance the financing solutions we provide to our middle market financial sponsor client base and continue to grow our footprint with the sponsor community. SMBC, Monroe and MA Financial each share a similar approach to private credit investing with a focus on providing loans to high quality borrowers backed by top-tier middle market private equity owners. These partnerships are an important strategic milestone for the continued development of SMBC’s private credit business, and we are excited to commence capital deployment,” said Glenn Autorino, Co-General Manager, Managing Director and Co-Head of Leveraged Finance, SMBC Americas Division.

“We believe that strategic partnerships between specialist lenders, asset managers and banks are the next evolution in private credit. We’re pleased to partner with Monroe Capital and SMBC in this innovative joint venture, reflecting the emerging paradigm shift toward co-lending,” Frank Danieli, Head of Global Credit Solutions at MA Financial Group, commented. “The U.S. middle market presents a compelling opportunity to deploy capital to real world economy businesses while earning strong risk-adjusted returns and benefiting from robust lender protections that are foundational to our credit philosophy. We are excited to unlock access to this opportunity for our clients.”