Ares Management announced that its Special Opportunities strategy, currently a business within its Private Equity Group, will be joining the firm’s Credit Group and named Opportunistic Credit. Moving from the strategy to the Credit Group is expected to enable greater collaboration across the Ares platform, enhancing benefits to Ares’ limited partners, sponsor partners, and portfolio companies.
The Opportunistic Credit team will build on the accomplishments of the Special Opportunities strategy and leverage the experience and broad direct origination network across the firm’s leading global Credit platform. And the team will continue to partner with healthy companies and businesses needing transitional capital and provide flexible debt and non-control equity solutions to private and public companies. This approach seeks to fill the void between for-control private equity and more traditional direct lending and emphasizes differentiated deal flow through direct origination.
The Opportunistic Credit team will be led by Aaron Rosen and Craig Snyder, who serve as Co-Portfolio Managers of Special Opportunities and have been instrumental to the growth of that strategy since it launched. And Rosen and Snyder have been involved in the leadership of the team and its day-to-day operations since 2018 and they will continue to be supported by long-tenured team members, including Felix Bernshteyn, Brad Friedman, James Kim and Matt Underwood. The team has approximately 30 dedicated investment professionals in the United States and United Kingdom.
Adjusted for this change, the Ares Credit Group had about $300 billion in assets under management with approximately 490 investment professionals operating across the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific as of December 31, 2023. And the Opportunistic Credit strategy will be reflected within the Ares Credit Group in Ares’ public reporting, effective March 31, 2024.
KEY QUOTES:
“As industry dynamics continue to evolve, we are seeing an expanding investment opportunity for private lenders who can deliver creative and flexible debt and structured equity solutions to middle market companies. Aligning our Special Opportunities team with our industry-leading global Credit Group is intended to further ensure that we are maximizing our broad origination capabilities, deepening our long-standing sponsor relationships and optimizing our underwriting, structuring and portfolio management experience, all of which we believe will benefit our fund investors.”
– Kipp deVeer, Head of the Ares Credit Group
“Bringing the Special Opportunities business under the Credit Group umbrella is designed to enhance our investing capabilities and create value for our portfolio companies and our investors.”
– Aaron Rosen
“We are extremely proud of the accomplishments of the Special Opportunities business to date and look forward to working even more closely with our colleagues in Credit and across the Ares platform to take advantage of the growing market opportunity.”
– Craig Snyder
