Blackstone acquires Ares Capital's credit business (2016)
In a landmark deal that changed the shape of the alternative-assets industry, Blackstone bought a majority stake in Ares Capital, the middle-market credit lender, for about $5.4 billion. The transaction was unusual in that it was a PE firm buying another firm's core business, not a portfolio company. It signaled a new era of consolidation among the biggest alternative-investment managers, and it put Blackstone at the center of a much larger credit platform.
Why it mattered
The deal marked the beginning of a major shift in the alternative assets industry, as the largest PE firms began to consolidate and build diversified credit platforms. It showed that credit, not just equity, was a major source of returns and scale. It triggered a wave of consolidation among credit managers and changed how investors thought about the alternative asset complex.