Partners Group is moving on several fronts at once, and the common thread is control — over its creditors, its fund structures and the shape of its dealmaking teams. The Swiss asset manager is refinancing roughly EUR 6 billion of debt across three portfolio companies while working to keep activist hedge funds off the loan register, according to a Bloomberg report published yesterday.
The borrowings sit with the property services firm Emeria SASU, conveyor-belt and drive manufacturer Ammega Group BV and luxury watchmaker Breitling AG. All three debt packages mature in 2028. Hedge funds routinely snap up loans on the secondary market ahead of a maturity to win leverage over restructurings, and Partners Group is deploying restrictive clauses to shut them out of the process this time.
Buyout Desk Slims Down as Capital Shifts
Word of the refinancing lands alongside changes inside the firm’s private equity division. Dozens of roles have been cut or moved elsewhere, with staff redirected into infrastructure and royalties, Bloomberg reported. The unit counts more than 200 people worldwide.
Partners Group pushed back on any suggestion of a broad retreat. Team size is in line with its long-run average, the company said, and operational leadership capacity has been strengthened at the same time — a shift that speaks to the growing pressure to steer portfolio companies more hands-on through a tougher market.
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New money is flowing too. 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. Two days earlier, its in-house private credit platform refinanced DELABO.group through a unitranche structure.
A Wider Product Shelf
The fund line-up is being reworked in parallel. About a week ago Partners Group launched a global, cross-sector private credit income strategy, structured as an open-ended evergreen vehicle and targeting high single-digit to low double-digit returns, generated mainly from running income.
Investors in the flagship Global Value SICAV — a EUR 6.6 billion private equity evergreen — have been asked to split it into two standalone portfolios with distinct investment profiles, a move meant to give them more flexibility in allocating capital and to wind down older holdings gradually.
An external vehicle is already heading for the exit. Shareholders of London-listed Partners Group Private Equity Limited voted 99.89% in favour of an orderly liquidation of the entire portfolio. The Guernsey-based company is managed by Partners Group but legally independent of Partners Group Holding AG. Distributions of available proceeds are scheduled half-yearly from 31 March 2027.
Shares Still Deep in the Red
Market sentiment has stayed cautious for months, with investors wary of valuations and liquidity flows across private markets. Partners Group closed Friday at EUR 655.20, leaving the stock down 38% since the start of the year. The shares have recovered only modestly from their 52-week low of EUR 623.00.
Whether the disciplined approach to creditor management across the large holdings can rebuild confidence will hinge on the terms of the final credit agreements. The next hard data point on flows arrives on 13 January 2027, when Partners Group publishes assets under management as of 31 December 2026.
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Partners Group Stock: New Analysis – 17 October
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