Nuveen, the investment manager owned by TIAA, is exploring the sale of a stake in Nuveen Private Capital, its arm that holds Churchill Asset Management and Arcmont Asset Management, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The firm has been discussing selling a minority stake in the $78 billion unit, which is led by Churchill Chief Executive Officer Ken Kencel and Arcmont CEO Anthony Fobel, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. No transaction has been finalized, and it’s possible a deal won’t be reached.
Nuveen Private Capital was formed in March 2023 after Nuveen’s acquisition of a controlling stake in London-based Arcmont. The unit operates private credit and private equity strategies, with around $52 billion managed by Churchill and roughly $26 billion overseen by Arcmont.
An initial public offering of the asset-management platform, which also goes by NPC, is among options being discussed with would-be minority investors, the people said. The timing of any listing could come in 2028, five years following the Arcmont transaction, one of them said.
Representatives for Nuveen and Churchill declined to comment. An Arcmont spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Alternative-asset managers have increasingly pursued minority-stake sales, in part to provide senior management or founders with liquidity. In January, Sixth Street sold a minority stake to Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. as part of a partnership which will see the firm managing $13 billion of assets for the insurer, while HPS Investment Partners sold stakes to Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America and Dyal Capital Partners in the years preceding its agreement to be acquired by BlackRock. HPS had about $148 billion in client assets when its deal with BlackRock was struck.
