Hong Kong-headquartered alternative investment firm PAG has closed its fifth pan-Asian direct lending fund worth $2.6 billion, according to a company announcement on Tuesday.

The fund, dubbed PAG Loan Fund V, is the largest of its kind in Asia-Pacific to date, per the statement. It received capital commitments from 20 institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and endowments located in North America, Europe, the Middle-East, and Asia-Pacific.

DealStreetAsia reported in May last year that the firm was in the market to raise the fund. At the time, PAG mentioned the fundraising would not last more than a year without specifying a total offering amount. 

PAG’s direct lending funds aim to provide financing solutions across the Asia-Pacific region. Direct lending funds typically cater to mid-market businesses that are not usually served by traditional banks. 

Its predecessor fund, PAG Loan Fund IV, closed in 2020 with $1.5 billion in investor commitments.

PAG focuses on the APAC region, investing across private equity, private debt, hedge funds, and real estate. The firm has more than $50 billion in assets under management. It was co-founded 20 years ago by Weijian Shan, Chris Gradel, and Jon-Paul Toppino.

In August this year, PAG was reported to be delaying its $2-billion Hong Kong IPO after filing for it earlier in March, citing stock market volatility. However, it said it could push forward with its IPO plans if markets were to improve in the short term. 

In 2018, one of the world’s largest private equity investors, Blackstone, announced that it had acquired a passive minority stake in PAG.