LONDON (Reuters) - Intermediate Capital (L:ICP) said on Wednesday its assets under management rose by 8 percent in the December quarter to almost 15 billion euros (11 billion pounds), helped by investor demand for higher-yielding assets.
The company, a specialist asset manager providing mezzanine finance, private debt, leveraged credit and minority equity, said it raised 3.1 billion euros in funds in the nine months through December, including 1.4 billion euros of new money in the latest quarter.
"In an era of diminished returns for institutional investors, investor demand continues to be strong for alternative credit strategies," Chief Executive Christophe Evain said in a statement.
Mezzanine debt is commonly used by private equity firms, which typically use leverage for acquisitions. Mezzanine debt comes between senior debt and equities, meaning providers of the mezzanine debt get higher yields than senior debt providers.
Intermediate Capital said it had a strong pipeline and expected further closes on its U.S. and Japanese mezzanine funds during this financial year.
Analysts at Jefferies said they retained their "buy" rating on the stock, adding: "The Q3 success plus the strong pipeline leaves ICP well set for the rest of this financial year and next."
Intermediate Capital shares were up 1.7 percent at 486 pence by 0809 GMT, trimming gains from an earlier 15-month high.