About Pantheon

• Founded: 1982

• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom

• AUM: $93bn as of 2024

• Strategy: Global secondary market investments, LP portfolio acquisitions, GP-led transactions

• Track record: One of the largest dedicated secondaries buyers globally, with extensive CV participation across buyout, credit, and infrastructure strategies

• Leadership: Founded by Rhoddy Swire, currently led by Helen Steers (Global Head of Private Equity) and Paul Ward (Head of Secondaries)

Pantheon has backed a continuation vehicle for BlackRock's business development corporation credit platform. The transaction allows existing investors to roll or exit positions while bringing in new capital through Pantheon's commitment. Deal size and pricing terms were not disclosed, though BDCs typically hold diversified portfolios of middle-market loans with quarterly mark-to-market valuations.

The transaction extends a pattern of credit-focused CVs gaining traction as direct lending matures. Coller Capital closed a $1.2bn CV for a private credit portfolio in Q3 2024, and Intermediate Capital Group backed a $780m credit CV in January 2025. Pantheon's participation signals continued institutional appetite for yield-oriented secondaries, particularly in strategies with transparent NAV reporting. BDC structures offer quarterly pricing data that reduces information asymmetry compared to traditional PE, making them more palatable for CV buyers evaluating rollover economics.

The near-term question is whether credit CVs begin to trade at premiums as deployment competition intensifies. Private debt fundraising fell 18% in 2024, but secondary market volume for credit assets rose 22% over the same period, per Jefferies data. If LP liquidity demand outpaces new fund commitments, pricing tension could favor GPs structuring continuation exits — particularly for platforms like BlackRock's BDC with liquid underlying holdings and established distribution infrastructure.

Source: Secondaries Investor