Cantilever takes minority stake in private credit firm Ghost Tree
What's the deal? Cantilever GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has made a minority equity investment in Ghost Tree Partners, an Irvine, California-based private credit firm. Cantilever, an independent investment firm specialising in middle-market GP stakes, did not disclose the stake size or financial terms.
What's Ghost Tree? Founded in 2021 by Mark Fox, Scott Warner, and Jeff Willardson, it provides senior secured, collateral-focused financing to lower middle-market companies. The three founders worked together for more than 20 years, most recently at PAAMCO Prisma. Its flagship vehicle, the GT Partners – Lone Cypress Fund, is a private evergreen structure.
What's the endgame? Cantilever backs alternative-asset managers in the $500 million to $5 billion range, providing capital to accelerate growth, fund acquisitions, or give liquidity to founders. "Our partnership with Cantilever is about more than just growth capital," said Scott Warner, co-founder of Ghost Tree, adding that Cantilever's "patient, minority-oriented approach" fit its long-term plans.
Why now? Evergreen vehicles like Ghost Tree's are drawing fast-growing flows. MSCI estimates annual flows into such structures rose from $10 billion in 2020 to a projected $74 billion in 2025, as private credit expands.
The signal: The deal reflects a broader rush into minority stakes in alternative-asset managers. S&P Global reported that announced minority investments in private-equity and venture firms exceeded $2.5 billion since 2022 — more than twice the total for the prior five years.
Read more: morningstar.com
Image credit: USCPublicDiplomacy
