The Private Credit Takeover
By: Joya Trivedi – Head of Industrials Industry Group
Contributing Editors: Nathan Li, Caden Warner
Point72, Keurig Dr Pepper, and Meta. What do these three have in common?
Point72 is a well-known hedge fund with roughly $41.5 billion in assets under management (AUM). Keurig is a global beverage company. Meta is, well, Meta. At first glance, these companies don’t seem to have much in common. What matters, however, isn’t what they are but what they’re doing. Each is tapping into what many consider the next major wave in finance: private credit.
To understand how they are all participating in this trend, it’s important to define what private credit actually is. The simplest definition is private loans made directly from a lender to a borrower, with no intention of distributing the loan to outside investors. This contrasts with public credit transactions, where a bank underwrites a loan and then sells it to investors as a Term Loan Bs or bond.
Private credit has traditionally been most popular among smaller companies or those with weaker credit histories. Today, however, many large companies are seeking private credit solutions. This shift is driven by numerous benefits. Because the loan comes directly from the lender without investor involvement, private credit provides faster execution, directly negotiated terms, and greater flexibility tailored to the borrower. As demand for private loans increases, more non-bank lenders have moved to meet it.
This makes it clearer how Point72, Keurig, and Meta are each involved. Point72 is an active private-credit lender and is reportedly in early discussions with investors to raise as much as $1 billion for a new private credit fund vehicle.
Keurig, in its proposed acquisition of JDE Peet’s NV, is avoiding traditional debt and instead turning to private-credit institutions for a $3 billion convertible preferred stock investment and another $4 billion for a newly formed joint venture that manufactures coffee pods.
Meta has also tapped private credit, borrowing $29 billion to develop a data center in Louisiana. This deal was significant not only because of its size, but also because it marked a major entry of private-credit lenders into the AI infrastructure race.
These recent developments highlight the growing prominence of private credit. A Morgan Stanley report forecasts the space to expand to $2.6 trillion by 2029. With its speed, flexibility, and tailored structure, private credit has become a mainstream financing option for companies of all sizes.
As the private credit market continues to grow, its influence on the banking sector will intensify. More companies shifting toward private loans eases pressure on public credit markets, where total debt capital market issuance is approaching $1.6 trillion. Banks, in turn, will need to continue expanding their private credit capabilities, strengthening relationships with direct lenders, and reassessing how financial transactions will be funded going forward.
Ultimately, private credit is more than just a passing trend—it is reshaping how companies finance growth and how banks operate. Understanding private credit is becoming essential to understanding modern finance, both today and in the years ahead.