Third Point, an alternative investment manager with $12 billion of assets, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire AS Birch Grove LP, a diversified alternative credit fund manager. And upon the completion of the deal, American Securities will no longer be an owner of Birch Grove, which will become a subsidiary of Third Point.
Third Point (founded in 1995 by CEO Daniel S. Loeb) is an event-driven investor in equities, venture capital, and credit strategies, including structured, performing, distressed, and private credit. And it holds a substantial portion of its assets in credit securities and introduced dedicated credit fund offerings beginning in 2020.
Third Point launched Malibu Life Re, a life-and-annuity insurer based in the Cayman Islands in 2024 and it is expanding into other liability-driven investing businesses. And the firm’s acquisition of Birch Grove will supplement Third Point’s credit capabilities to serve its investors across all asset classes better.
Birch Grove (founded in 2013 by CEO and CIO Jonathan Berger and President Andrew Fink) has approximately $8 billion of assets under management in strategies, including collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), opportunistic private credit solutions, multi-strategy credit, senior loans, and high-yield bonds. And Birch Grove’s CLO investments account for over $5 billion of its current AUM.
Upon closing of the deal, Berger will maintain his responsibilities at Birch Grove and additionally become Co-Head of Credit at Third Point along with Third Point Partner Ian Wallace. Wallace; Shalini Sriram, Head of Structured Credit; Chris Taylor, Head of Private Credit; and Stephen Schatzman, Head of Opportunistic Credit; will continue to lead their strategies. Even though Birch Grove and Third Point’s existing funds will be run separately, Berger will work with Loeb, Wallace, Sriram, Taylor, and Schatzman to develop new products reflecting the firm’s complementary strategies.
Birch Grove has 17 credit analysts and five credit origination professionals sourcing credit opportunities across North America and Europe. And the Birch Grove team, led by Berger and Fink, will maintain their roles and responsibilities for managing Birch Grove’s assets.
Jefferies acted as sole financial advisor to Third Point and Willkie Farr & Gallagher provided legal counsel. And Birch Grove’s financial advisor is GreensLedge Capital Markets and Schulte Roth & Zabel provided legal counsel. American Securities was advised by Weil, Gotshal & Manges.
KEY QUOTES:
“Birch Grove’s businesses further diversify our credit platform. Their well-established CLO franchise has strong momentum, and their capital solutions business complements our new private credit strategy. As each firms’ investors seek alternative-credit opportunities for their portfolios, I am confident that this combination will offer compelling solutions.”
- Daniel S. Loeb
“We are delighted to become part of the Third Point platform. Third Point’s three-decade track record of successfully investing in credit markets and tenured team of investment professionals will help drive our funds forward.”
- Jonathan Berger
“We look forward to working with Birch Grove to build on Third Point’s long history of delivering superior returns for our investors. Our growing capabilities will benefit our partners who are looking for increased diversification in their credit portfolios.”
- Ian Wallace
“We are proud of the opportunistic credit business we founded in 2006 that became AS Birch Grove in 2021, and we wish the platform continued success in this next chapter.”
- Michael Fisch, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at American Securities
