NEW YORK, New York, February 16, 2022 -- Blue Owl Capital Inc. (“Blue Owl”) (NYSE: OWL) announced today it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Wellfleet Credit Partners LLC (“Wellfleet”) from affiliates of Littlejohn & Co., LLC (“Littlejohn”).
The transaction is expected to close in March 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions. The purchase price consists of upfront and earnout payments, which will be primarily funded by cash. Upon closing, Wellfleet will become part of Blue Owl’s Owl Rock division, reporting into Craig Packer, Co-Founder and a Senior Managing Director of Blue Owl.
“We are excited to welcome Scott, Dennis and the rest of the Wellfleet team. Wellfleet adds a complementary, scalable business to Owl Rock’s existing platform of credit solutions. Wellfleet’s unique expertise, together with its deep institutional knowledge of the syndicated loan market and strong credit research platform, will enhance the overall strategic capabilities of the Owl Rock business,” said Craig Packer.
Founded in 2015 as the performing credit arm of Littlejohn, a private investment firm based in Greenwich, CT, Wellfleet focuses on the management of CLO portfolios of broadly syndicated leveraged loans. Wellfleet also invests in third-party CLO equity and junior mezzanine tranches on behalf of separately managed accounts. The platform manages 16 CLOs with over $6.5 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2021 and is led by seasoned leveraged finance professionals Scott McKay and Dennis Talley. Following the closing of the transaction, both McKay and Talley will continue serving as lead portfolio managers for the platform as employees of Blue Owl.
Scott McKay commented on behalf of Wellfleet: “The Wellfleet team is excited to partner with Blue Owl as the cultural and strategic fit will further enhance our leadership in the products we manage. We would also like to thank the partners at Littlejohn for their seven years of unyielding support and look forward to their ongoing investment in Wellfleet managed funds.”
Additionally, Michael Klein, Chief Executive Officer of Littlejohn, added: “Scott and Dennis helped build a highly successful, scalable and enduring CLO franchise that is poised for continued growth. We wish them continued success.”
Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal counsel and GreensLedge served as financial advisor to Blue Owl. Stradley Ronon acted as legal counsel to Littlejohn.
About Littlejohn & Co., LLC
Littlejohn & Co. is a Greenwich, Connecticut-based investment firm focused on both private equity and credit opportunities in middle-market companies. The Firm seeks to build sustainable success for its investments through a disciplined approach to engineering change. For more information about Littlejohn, visit www.littlejohnllc.com.
Investor Contact:
Ann Dai
+1 (212) 651-4719
blueowlir@blueowl.com
Media Contacts:
For Blue Owl
Prosek Partners
David Wells / Nick Theccanat
pro-blueowl@prosek.com
For Littlejohn & Co.
Jonathan Gasthalter/Nathaniel Garnick/Grace Cartwright
Gasthalter & Co.
(212) 257-4170