Private Credit Joins Race to Rebuild Europe’s Defense Industry

A string of private credit deals in recent weeks suggests some of the world’s most deep-pocketed investors are getting behind Europe’s defense build-up.

The credit arm of Carlyle Group Inc. financed Bridgepoint Group’s acquisition of Comrod, a Norwegian maker of masts used for military communication. That followed a debt package Carlyle arranged for France’s Mecachrome, which provides components for Emmanuel Macron’s vaunted Rafale fighter jets.