Blue Owl to Partner With ADQ-Backed Lunate on Middle-Market Bets - Bloomberg

Blue Owl to Partner With ADQ-Backed Lunate on Middle-Market Bets - Bloomberg

Blue Owl Capital Inc. said it will partner with Lunate, an investment manager backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ, to buy minority stakes in mid-size asset managers.

Lunate will contribute about $500 million to the effort, for which Blue Owl is seeking to raise $2.5 billion, according a person familiar with the effort, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

The group plans to back firms with less than $10 billion of fee-paying assets under management, Blue Owl and Lunate said Wednesday in an emailed statement that didn’t disclose financial details.

The joint venture will be “complementary to our existing strategy focused on larger managers,” Blue Owl Co-President Michael Rees said in the statement.

Lunate will bring experience to the group both as a limited partner in private investment firms, he said, as well as an existing investor in minority stakes. Abu Dhabi-based Lunate, with $105 billion of assets, previously worked with Blue Owl as a co-investor in CVC Capital Partners.

The venture will compete with institutions including Hunter Point Capital, Bonaccord Capital and RidgeLake Partners, which have largely focused on mid-size managers.

Bloomberg previously reported that Blue Owl planned to raise at least $2 billion for a new fund dedicated to buying stakes in mid-size asset managers.