ADQ’s Lunate partners with Blue Owl to invest in mid-size asset managers

Image courtesy Christopher Pike/ Getty Images

Blue Owl Capital, a US-based alternative investment manager with $150bn in assets under management (AuM), is partnering with Abu Dhabi’s Lunate to buy minority stakes in mid-size asset managers.

The joint venture seeks to acquire minority stakes in private market investment managers with fee-paying AuM of less than $10bn.

Michael Rees from Blue Owl said Lunate is bringing valuable investment experience to the partnership both a limited partner and minority general partner (GP) stake investor. “We think the combined effort will be truly differentiated for mid-sized GPs and be complementary to our existing strategy focused on larger managers,” said Rees.

The venture will target GPs with a clear sector specialisation, differentiated approach, strong leadership and culture, and an established foundation of a durable, stable platform with identifiable key drivers of franchise value.

Lunate will reportedly contribute about $500m to the effort, for which Blue Owl is seeking to raise $2.5bn, according to Bloomberg sources. With $105bn of assets, the Abu Dhabi investment manager previously worked with Blue Owl as a co-investor in CVC Capital Partners.

“Blue Owl are pioneers and leaders in this space, and together, we are well positioned to add strategic value through our multi-asset platform, global networks, and industry expertise,” said Khalifa Al Suwaidi, managing partner at Lunate.

Last September, Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala Investment Company committed $1bn to Blue Owl’s credit platform under a strategic partnership that will focus on investing in technology companies.

Lunate’s growing portfolio

Chimera Investment, part of Abu Dhabi’s Royal Group, set up Lunate in September 2023 to manage the funds of outside investors and raise new capital, adding to the plethora of sovereign and state-linked funds in the oil-rich emirate.

The investment vehicle focuses on investments across private equity, venture capital, private credit, real assets, public equities and public credit.

Last November, Lunate teamed up with Wall Street lender BNY Mellon to launch Alpheya – a new fintech venture to tap into the GCC region’s burgeoning market for wealth management.

Alpheya, which has $300m in capital, will provide a range of digital services, including client onboarding, financial planning, portfolio construction, trading and rebalancing, risk management reporting, and analytics.

The Abu Dhabi global alternative investment manager also launched a $30bn climate fund dubbed ALTÉRRA in collaboration with global asset managers BlackRock, Brookfield and TPG.

Read: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed unveils $30bn climate fund