Janus Henderson Group has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Victory Park Capital Advisors, a private credit manager with $6bn in assets under management.
The purchase is expected to add to Janus Henderson’s $36.3bn securitised assets business.
Victory Park Capital (VPC) specialises in asset-backed lending, which includes small business and consumer finance, financial and hard assets, and real estate credit.
The Chicago headquartered private credit manager was founded in 2007 by Richard Levy and Brendan Carroll. It has roughly 60 employees and a two decade-long track record.
The deal comes after Janus Henderson announced in May it was buying National Bank of Kuwait’s alternative investments business NBK Capital Partners.
Ali Dibad, CEO of Janus Henderson said: “Asset-backed lending has emerged as a significant market opportunity within private credit, as clients increasingly look to diversify their private credit exposure beyond only direct lending.”
“VPC’s investment capabilities in private credit and deep expertise in insurance align with the growing needs of our clients, further our strategic objective to diversify where we have the right, and amplify our existing strengths in securitized finance.”
Janus Henderson, which manages $361bn in assets, said VPC’s long-standing partnerships with global institutional clients will enhance its own position in the institutional market.
Richard Levy, CEO, CIO and founder of VPC said he believes the deal with Janus Henderson will help the firm scale faster as well as expand its distribution and geographic reach.
Brendan Carroll, senior partner and co-founder of VPC added that the deal “creates tremendous value for clients through accelerated product development and cross-selling opportunities”.
The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, subject to regulatory approval. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, other than it comprises a mix of cash and shares of Janus Henderson stock.
