Blue Owl buys Kuvare Asset Management to expand insurance solutions

Alternative asset manager Blue Owl Capital is expanding its solutions for the “multi-trillion-dollar insurance market” by acquiring Kuvare Asset Management (KAM) for $750m (£596m).

KAM provides asset management services to the insurance industry.

Blue Owl has separately purchased $250m of preferred equity in KAM’s UK arm, Kuvare UK, providing growth capital to Kuvare UK’s insurance companies, each of which will become new asset management clients of Blue Owl.

In addition, Blue Owl and Kuvare UK have entered into investment management agreements that enable Blue Owl to deploy up to $3bn of assets across its existing credit, GP strategic capital and real estate investment platforms.

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Blue Owl said that the acquisition will add up to $20bn of assets under management after the deal closes, and support the launch of Blue Owl Insurance Solutions.

Kuvare UK will continue to manage the overall asset allocations for its insurance businesses and strategic investments.

“Our acquisition of KAM allows us to provide broader solutions to the multi-trillion-dollar insurance market at scale,” said Doug Ostrover, co-chief executive of Blue Owl.

“KAM’s capabilities in investment grade credit and real estate strategies supplement Blue Owl’s existing strength in these asset classes and further accelerate our ability to bring differentiated products and strategies to the market for Kuvare and third-party insurance clients.”

Blue Owl co-chief executive Marc Lipschultz added: “This partnership with Kuvare anchors Blue Owl’s expanding presence in the insurance channel, greatly complementing our robust institutional and wealth footprint and further diversifying the markets for which we provide investment solutions. In aggregate, we believe these transactions reflect a creative approach to expanding our offerings for the insurance market at an attractive price.”

Blue Owl will fund the KAM acquisition through a combination of $325m in cash and $425m in Blue Owl Class A common stock. The acquisition is expected to close in the second or third quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approvals.

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“It is an important and exciting step in the evolution of Kuvare to associate in such an impactful way with an asset manager of Blue Owl’s caliber,” said Kuvare founder and chairman Dhiren Jhaveri. “We always strive to be excellent stewards of assets entrusted to us by our policyholders and reinsurance partners, and the team at Blue Owl has demonstrated a unique commitment to helping us achieve our goals.”

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