Ares Management is spearheading a $2.2bn direct loan to fund MedImpact Holdings' planned acquisition of Puerto Rico‑based Medical Card System, Bloomberg reports. The deal, the largest private‑credit transaction of 2026, underscores the growing appetite for sizeable single‑name positions amid a market that now manages roughly $1.8tn in assets.

MedImpact, a pharmacy‑benefits manager, is majority‑owned by founder and CEO Frederick Howe, who launched the firm more than three decades ago. Its target, Medical Card System, was bought in 2022 by Kinderhook Industries and operates in the Puerto Rico‑focused healthcare sector.

Private‑credit funds have seen investor withdrawals this year over underwriting discipline and exposure to software borrowers vulnerable to AI disruption. With M&A activity below historic norms, the flow of new financings has thinned, concentrating available deals into fewer, larger transactions where scale lenders like Ares can commit sizeable positions.

Ares also negotiates a £1bn ($1.3bn) debt package for Toscafund Asset Management’s potential take‑private of London‑listed Spire Healthcare Group. Together, the two mandates would make Ares one of the most active large‑cheque lenders in the healthcare sector this year.