ARES
Another day, another deal
Ares Commercial Finance and Platinum Credit Opportunities Funds said they’re providing financing for Kingswood Capital Management’s acquisition of Daramic. In plain English: Ares is helping grease the wheels on a private equity buyout, which is basically Wall Street’s version of passing the aux cord.
Why you should care
Daramic makes battery separators for lead batteries — not exactly a dinner-party conversation starter, but a useful reminder that Ares’s lending arm makes money by funding companies and deals other people want to own. If the credit stays clean, those loans can be a nice source of yield in a market that still loves talking about private credit like it’s the new black.
The bigger picture
This isn’t a blockbuster merger or a headline-grabbing regulatory win. But it does show Ares still has a seat at the table in sponsor-backed financing, where the fees and interest income can add up quietly while everyone else is chasing the flashier stuff.
Big picture: not a fireworks moment, but it’s another brick in Ares’s private-credit wall.