Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund Announces Completion of $1.175 Billion Revolving Credit Facility

MARINA DEL REY, Calif., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund ("CELFX" or "the Fund"), an interval fund providing access to alternative private credit strategies, has announced the closing of a senior secured syndicated revolving credit facility (the "Facility"). The Facility is led by PNC Bank, N.A., as administrative agent and joint lead arranger and Barings as joint lead arranger through the Barings Portfolio Finance team.

Under the Facility, which closed on July 19, 2024, the lenders have agreed to extend credit to the Fund in an aggregate amount of $1.175 billion with an option to request that existing and/or new lenders provide up to $2.0 billion. The Facility will mature on July 19, 2029.

The Fund intends to utilize the Facility to support continued growth in the balance sheet coinciding with the Fund's continued pace of equity inflows. As of June 30, 2024, CELFX has approximately $3.4 billion in net assets, up from approximately $2.5 billion as of December 31, 2023.

"We are excited about the closing of this important facility for CELFX. Having recently crossed three years of performance, this transaction enhances the flexibility of our balance sheet so that we can continue pursuing our goal of delivering the best investor experience for years to come," Stephen Nesbitt, Portfolio Manager of CELFX and CEO of Cliffwater.

"This facility provides CELFX with both immediate robust liquidity and a pathway to continued equity growth. We thank our lender partners for their continued support." Daniel Lepore, Managing Director and Head of Liability Management.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase the Notes or any other securities and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

ABOUT CLIFFWATER ENHANCED LENDING FUND (CELFX)

Launched July 1, 2021, Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund is a Delaware statutory trust registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and operates as an interval fund.

CELFX invests across the private debt spectrum, including diversifying sub-asset classes with lower correlation to traditional risk assets, to tap into unique risk premiums to pursue high current income and, secondarily, capital appreciation. The fund provides immediate exposure to niche strategies in one efficient solution that would be costly and challenging for investors to replicate.

As of June 30, 2024, CELFX has $3.4 billion in net asset value and approximately $3.7 billion in total gross assets. Since inception, CELFX has delivered a net annualized total return of 13.16%. The broad-based portfolio was invested across 13 private debt strategies with an average look-through exposure to any single issuer of less than 0.1%.

Cliffwater LLC serves as the investment adviser of the Fund. 

https://www.cliffwaterfunds.com

ABOUT CLIFFWATER LLC

Cliffwater LLC ("Cliffwater", or "the Firm") is an independent alternative investment adviser and fund manager that provides proactive research, advisory, and investment services. Cliffwater was founded in 2004; has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Newport Beach; and currently has approximately $28 billion in assets under management (AUM) and $83 billion in assets under advisement (AUA). 

Cliffwater is a leader in private debt. The Firm's research has been published in "The Journal of Alternative Investments," and in 2018, its founder and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Nesbitt, was named one of the "30 Most Influential People in Private Debt" by Private Debt Investor. Mr. Nesbitt has also written one of the first books on private debt: "Private Debt: Opportunities in Corporate Direct Lending" (Wiley Finance, 2019); with its second edition being released in 2023: "Private Debt: Yield, Safety and the Emergence of Alternative Lending" (Wiley Finance, 2023).

Cliffwater's private debt research has also led to the creation of four indices: the Cliffwater Direct Lending Index ("CDLI"), which is an asset-weighted index that seeks to measure the unlevered, gross of fees performance for U.S. middle market corporate loans; the Cliffwater Direct Lending Index: Senior-Only ("CDLI-S"), which is an index focusing on the senior loans within the CDLI; the Cliffwater Direct Lending Index: Venture-Only ("CDLI-V"), which is an index comprised of only venture-backed loans within the CDLI; and the Cliffwater BDC Index ("CWBDC"), which is a capitalization-weighted index built to measure the performance of exchanged-traded Business Development Companies ("BDCs").

Cliffwater LLC is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

https://www.cliffwater.com

Performance data represents past performance, which does not guarantee future results. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate, so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost; and the current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Fund performance is net of fees.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund (the "Fund") carefully before investing. For a prospectus with this and other information about the Fund, please call (888) 442-4420 or visit our website at www.cliffwaterfunds.com. The Fund's investment program is speculative and entails substantial risks. There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objectives will be achieved or that its investment program will be successful Investors should consider the Fund as a supplement to an overall investment program and should invest only if they are willing to undertake the risks involved Investors could lose some or all of their investment. Shares are an illiquid investment. We do not intend to list the Fund's shares ("Shares") on any securities exchange, and we do not expect a secondary market in the Shares to develop. You should generally not expect to be able to sell your Shares (other than through the limited repurchase process), regardless of how we perform. Although we are required to implement a Share repurchase program, only a limited number of Shares will be eligible for repurchase by us. You should consider that you may not have access to the money you invest for an indefinite period of time. An investment in the Shares is not suitable for you if you have foreseeable need to access the money you invest. Because you will be unable to sell your Shares or have them repurchased immediately, you will find it difficult to reduce your exposure on a timely basis during a market downturn. The Fund is a non-diversified management investment company and may be more susceptible to any single economic or regulatory occurrence than a diversified investment company. Cybersecurity risks have significantly increased in recent years and the Fund could suffer such losses in the future. One of the fundamental risks associated with the Fund's investments is the risk that an issuer will be unable to make principal and interest payments on its outstanding debt obligations when due. Other risk factors include interest rate risk (a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of debt securities) and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). Distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC, www.acaglobal.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements. Any such statements other than statements of historical fact are likely to be affected by other unknowable future events and conditions, including elements of the future that are or are not under Cliffwater LLC's control, and that Cliffwater LLC may or may not have considered; accordingly, such statements cannot be guarantees or assurances of any aspect of future performance. Actual performance and results could vary materially from these estimates and projections of the future as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in Cliffwater LLC's filings with the SEC. Such statements speak only as of the time when made and are based on information available to Cliffwater LLC as of the date hereof and are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Cliffwater LLC assumes no obligation to revise or update any such statement now or in the future.