Vista raises $250M software debt fund

Vista Equity Partners’ credit arm is raising a $250 million fund to buy discounted software loans after an artificial-intelligence-driven selloff. (bloomberg.com) Bloomberg reported on April 10 that the new vehicle will target beaten-down debt tied to software companies, including loans in private and broadly syndicated markets. Vista is raising the money through Vista Credit, the firm’s private credit business. (bloomberg.com; vistaequitypartners.com) The bet comes after software debt prices fell alongside public software stocks in early 2026 as investors reassessed which companies could be hurt by new artificial intelligence tools. S&P Global Market Intelligence said the stress is making refinancing harder for private-equity-owned software companies and new buyouts tougher to finance. (spglobal.com) LPL Financial said in a February report that software debt in collateralized loan obligations, a type of loan-bundling vehicle, had the worst total returns of any sector in 2026 through early February. The firm said weighted average bid levels for software issuers in broadly syndicated loan collateralized loan obligations dropped notably in January and early February. (lpl.com) That backdrop has opened a trade for buyers with fresh cash: purchase loans below par and profit if the borrower keeps paying or refinances later at better prices. Bloomberg said Vista’s fund is aimed at companies caught in the recent repricing rather than a broad retreat from software lending. (bloomberg.com) The pressure traces back to the software buyout boom of 2021 and 2022, when private equity firms used cheap debt to finance acquisitions at high valuations. S&P Global Market Intelligence said slower growth, higher interest rates and new artificial intelligence risks have since exposed those capital structures to losses. (spglobal.com) Bloomberg reported this week that more than $330 billion of software and technology debt is due through 2028 across high-yield bonds, leveraged loans and business development company-linked debt. That maturity wall has sharpened attention on which issuers can adapt to artificial intelligence fast enough to keep lenders confident. (bloomberg.com) Not every analyst expects a sector-wide credit collapse. Bloomberg reported on March 12 that S&P Global Ratings said artificial intelligence is unlikely to trigger a broad wave of software downgrades and that the damage will be uneven, company by company. (bloomberg.com) Vista’s new fund puts one of software private equity’s biggest specialists on the side of buyers looking for bargains in that uncertainty. If loan prices keep swinging, firms with capital ready to deploy could end up shaping the next round of software restructurings and refinancings. (bloomberg.com; spglobal.com)