Recently, I noticed a quite interesting financing move. Goldman Sachs, together with several major asset management firms, arranged a $3.5 billion loan to acquire software company Clearwater Analytics.

The lineup of participants in this deal is quite strong—besides Goldman Sachs leading the effort, private credit heavyweights like Ares Management, Blue Owl Capital, Antares Capital, and Apollo Global Management also joined in. What does this indicate? It shows that the risk assessment and return expectations for this transaction have been recognized by the market.

Even more interesting is the cost of financing. The $3.5 billion debt issuance was set at an interest rate 450 basis points above the U.S. benchmark rate. This premium level reflects the market’s pricing of risks in the software sector. From the perspective of private credit institutions, their willingness to participate under such terms actually signals confidence in these companies’ debt repayment ability and growth prospects.

This could mean that, despite macroeconomic uncertainties, institutional capital remains optimistic about the software industry. Especially for enterprise software companies with stable cash flows, they continue to be the target of private credit capital.