---
title: "Ares’ $2.2 Billion Healthcare Loan Shows Private Credit Appetite Despite Redemption Pressure"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/295099052.md"
description: "Ares Management is arranging a $2.2 billion direct loan to fund MedImpact Holdings' acquisition of Medical Card System, marking one of the year's largest private credit deals. The second-lien debt will price at least eight percentage points above benchmark rates. This transaction highlights private credit appetite despite broader market challenges, including redemption pressures and slow private equity exits due to high interest rates."
datetime: "2026-08-06T11:00:18.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/295099052.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295099052.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/295099052.md)
generator: "portal-rs"
---

# Ares’ $2.2 Billion Healthcare Loan Shows Private Credit Appetite Despite Redemption Pressure

**Ares Management (NYSE:ARES)** is arranging a $2.2 billion direct loan to help fund a healthcare services acquisition, marking it one of the largest private credit deals this year.

The loan will finance pharmacy benefits manager **MedImpact Holdings Inc.’s** acquisition of **Medical Card System Inc,** according to Bloomberg. Discussions are still underway and could change.

The financing is expected to price at a spread of at least eight percentage points above the benchmark rate. The debt will be issued on a second-lien basis, placing the new lenders behind existing senior creditors in the repayment hierarchy.

 **Read Also: Carlyle Raises $17 Billion, Sees Private Credit, PE Growth Accelerating into Fundraising Supercycle** 

Medical Card System, a Puerto Rico-based healthcare services organization, was bought by middle market investment firm Kinderhook Industries in 2022 to invest in health plans, health maintenance organizations and healthcare services organizations, according to a press release at the time. Financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed.

MedImpact is a privately held pharmacy benefit manager founded in 1989 in San Diego, California. The company remains majority-owned by its founder, chairman and CEO Frederick Howe.

Private credit funds have faced a tough market environment this year amid concerns over weak underwriting and exposure to AI-vulnerable software companies. 

### Buyout Firms Have Trouble Monetizing Investments

In the current higher-rate environment, private equity deal-making is slow while the deployment and turnover of capital in the market remains limited.

**KKR’s** latest investment outlook revealed that 2025 was the second-best year on record for private equity exits by dollar value. Yet despite the rebound, roughly 32,000 portfolio companies worth nearly $4 trillion remain unsold globally. 

Average holding periods have stretched to nearly seven years, up from the historical norm of five to six years, as sponsors wait for stronger market conditions and improved valuations before selling assets.

 **Read Also: From $11.7B to $1.3B: Airtable Sale Caps SaaS Valuation Reset** 

*Photo: Shutterstock*

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> **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**