Citigroup and BlackRock’s private credit unit, HPS Investment Partners, have agreed to collaborate on direct-lending deals across Europe. The partnership targets up to €15 billion (about $17.5 billion) in financings over the next five years, according to the reports. The agreement is focused on originating and deploying capital through direct lending rather than traditional syndicated lending, aiming to expand private credit access in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa). While specific deal terms and the sectors or borrower profiles are not detailed in the provided excerpts, both outlets describe the initiative as a multi-year program intended to scale the partners’ direct-lending activity across European markets. The collaboration leverages Citi’s origination and client relationships with HPS’s private credit platform and investment approach. As presented, the arrangement is positioned as a planned pipeline of financings rather than a single transaction, with the stated total serving as a target volume for the five-year period.