KBRA Affirms the Rating Assigned to ABN AMRO Bank N.V.'s Participation in a Senior Secured Subscription Facility to CVC Capital Partners VII
22 Jul 2026 | Dublin
KBRA Europe (KBRA) affirms the rating assigned to ABN AMRO Bank N.V.'s ("ABN AMRO") €58.8 million commitment in a €500.0 million revolving credit facility (the "Facility") to the partnerships comprising CVC Capital Partners VII (together “CVC VII” or the “Fund”), including CVC Capital Partners VII (A) L.P. (the “Main Partnership”). The Outlook is Stable. The rating was requested by ABN AMRO as a participating Lender in the transaction. Neither CVC Capital Partners (“CVC” or the “Firm”) nor CVC Capital Partners VII Limited nor any of their respective associates have requested this report or the rating, and this report has not been prepared for or approved by any of them.
The Facility was amended in October 2025. The amendment reduced and restructured the Facility from its original size of €750.0 million to a maximum size of €500.0 million. Consequently, ABN AMRO's commitment decreased from €81.6 million to €58.8 million. As part of the amendment, the maturity date of the Facility was extended from December 2025 to December 2026, with further extensions subject to Lenders’ discretion. The purpose of the Facility is for bridging financing acquisition costs, general corporate and working capital purposes and the payment of fees, interest and expenses relating to investments and the Facility.
The rating action reflects the stable credit quality of the limited partner ("investor") base and the continued deployment of the Fund through capital calls. The majority of investors in the Main Partnership have been evaluated to be equivalent to investment grade equivalent credit quality, consistent with issuance. The diversification of investor commitments also remains broadly in line with issuance, with the Main Partnership continuing to comprise a significantly diversified investor base. As of March 2026, approximately 85.2% of investor commitments had been called. KBRA views the combination of these factors as supporting the continued willingness and ability of investors to meet future capital calls for repayment. The rating also reflects qualitative considerations, including KBRA's assessment of CVC. As part of its analysis, KBRA considered CVC's investment and portfolio management processes, governance framework, and experience in managing private equity investment vehicles.
CVC VII is a 2017 vintage fund managed by CVC and represents the seventh vintage of its flagship strategy that focuses on control or co-control investments across the European and Americas regions.
CVC is an alternative investment manager established in 1981 with seven strategies in private equity, secondaries, credit and infrastructure. As of March 2026, CVC has approximately €209.0 billion of assets under management and operates from 29 global offices across Europe, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific regions. As of March 2026, CVC's private equity platform manages €115.0 billion of assets across four strategies: Europe/Americas, Asia, Strategic Opportunities and Catalyst.
Key Credit Considerations
Investment fund ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative factors. The five key quantitative determinants are as follows:
- In the Asset Quality determinant, KBRA generally measures the quality of the collateral based on a weighted average scoring. For Subscription Facilities (“Sublines”), this includes an assessment using a matrix-based approach that reflects the creditworthiness of the Fund’s investor base.
- The Asset Coverage determinant measures the relative sufficiency of the pledged collateral value to repay the principal amount of the rated debt. For Sublines, this includes an evaluation of the covenants included in the Facility linked to uncalled committed capital (UCC) and net asset value (NAV) of the Fund, and/or advance rates applied to the UCC.
- The Liquidity determinant reflects KBRA’s assessment of the relative price discount that the underlying collateral may incur if the assets are subject to conversion into cash in order to meet scheduled or accelerated debt service requirements. Under the Liquidity determinant, KBRA considers three factors (type, complexity and price discovery / transparency) and scores these factors individually on a scale of zero to two, with two being the most liquid.
- In the Duration determinant, KBRA examines the tenor profile of the pledged collateral relative to the rated debt, and the associated vulnerability to changes in price of collateral over time.
- When appropriate, KBRA will perform a cash flow analysis in order to test the transaction’s ability to meet its rated interest and principal payment obligations under various economic, financial, and market scenarios. This is not applicable to Subscription Facilities, as investor capital calls typically occur on a non-periodic basis and the primary source of repayment for Sublines is the Fund’s UCC so once a capital call is issued, the investor is typically required to meet the capital call within a short window. Therefore, repayment capacity is analysed in the context of the prior rating determinants.
The above quantitative determinants produce a quantitative rating outcome. In addition to the above quantitative determinants, KBRA’s analysis considers a variety of qualitative factors, which can lead to upward or downward adjustments in the final rating outcome and these are assessed in the context of: (i) Manager Review; (ii) Legal Review, and (iii) Other Factors including alignment of interests, incentives to fund future capital calls and diversification within the investor base.
Rating Sensitivities
It should be noted that many aspects, including but not limited to, the rating sensitivities listed below, macroeconomic factors, market conditions, competitive landscape, and a fund manager’s investment acumen can impact the performance of the fund and influence KBRA’s rating decisions. If performance of the transaction differs meaningfully from the expected levels, KBRA may consider making a rating change.
Decline in Investor Credit Quality
A decline in the credit quality of the Fund’s investors as a result of: (i) deterioration in the credit quality of underlying investors; (ii) transfer of interests to investors of lower credit quality characteristics; (iii) inclusion of investors with weak credit quality characteristics; and (iv) weaker than expected investor diversification, may result in negative rating changes.
Improvement in Investor Credit Quality
An overall higher credit quality of the Fund’s investors as a result of: (i) improvement in the credit quality of underlying investors; (ii) transfer of interests to investors with better credit characteristics; (iii) inclusion of investors with strong credit quality characteristics; and (iv) stronger than expected investor diversification, may result in positive rating changes.
Underperformance of Fund Assets or Investments
A decrease in the Fund’s Fair Market Valu due to underperformance of the Fund’s underlying assets or investments may jeopardise debt repayment as the deterioration of the Fund may, for example, elicit hesitation of the Fund’s investors to fund their respective capital calls regardless of their contractual obligations to do so and the underlying investors’ security and protections to the Lender.
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