Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund Announces Completion of $760 Million Investment Grade Secured Notes Offering

MARINA DEL REY, Calif., Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund ("CCLFX" or "the Fund"), a diversified interval fund focused on consistent income through corporate middle market direct lending, is pleased to announce the closing of its fourth privately-placed Senior Secured Notes (the "Notes") offering, totaling $760 million in principal amount. The Notes are secured by CCLFX's assets, rank pari passu with its senior secured revolving credit facility, and have staggered maturity dates from 3 to 12 years.

The Fund intends to use the net proceeds from this offering primarily to support continued portfolio growth coinciding with the Fund's pace of equity inflows. As of November 30, 2023 CCLFX was over $14.8 billion in net assets, up from approximately $12.0 billion as of June 30, 2023.

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.

MUFG Securities Americas Inc. and U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. acted as the Lead Placement Agents in connection with the private placement of the Notes, with PNC Capital Markets LLC, SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., Regions Securities LLC, and Synovus Securities, Inc. as Placement Agents. 

ABOUT CLIFFWATER CORPORATE LENDING FUND (CCLFX)

Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund is a Delaware statutory trust registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and is a diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund operates as an interval fund and commenced operations on March 6, 2019.

CCLFX employs an innovative approach to corporate middle market lending, investing and co-investing in a diverse set of loans originated through multiple high-caliber institutional lenders. CCLFX focuses on delivering consistent floating-rate income and principal protection through all environments with low price volatility.

As of November 30, 2023, CCLFX has over $14.8 billion in net asset value and approximately $18.9 billion in total gross assets. Its diversified portfolio provides investors exposure to over 3,400 unique private credit borrowers, is allocated 94% to first lien senior secured loans, and has a non-accrual rate of 0.44%. CCLFX has a 11% distribution rate and has generated a net annualized total return of 8.96% since its inception on June 5, 2019.

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, and New York; and currently has approximately $20 billion in assets under management (AUM) and $77 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 Corporate Lending Fund (the "Fund") carefully before investing. Before investing, carefully read the prospectus, which can be found on the above website or by calling (888) 442-4420. 

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 a 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 diversified fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940. 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). Distribution rate is as of September 30, 2023. Distribution payments are not guaranteed. CCLFX may pay distributions from sources other than net investment income and capital gains, including, without limitation, the sale of assets, borrowings, return of capital (ROC) or offering proceeds, and advances or the deferral of fees and expense reimbursements. ROC should not be confused with yield or income. The distribution rate is calculated by annualizing the most recent amount paid to investors and dividing the resulting amount by fund's NAV. There can be no assurance that a change in market conditions or other factors will not result in a change in the Fund distribution rate at a future time. 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.

SOURCE CLIFFWATER LLC