KKR & Co. will acquire a 24.9% stake in credit hedge fund manager BlackGold Capital Management.
Financial terms were not disclosed, Kristi Huller, a KKR spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail.
BlackGold will continue to operate independently under its own name. The firm manages $1.4 billion in event-driven, energy and hard-asset-related credit strategies, primarily for institutional investors.
BlackGold’s co-founders, Erik Dybesland and Adam J. Flikerski, both limited partners, will keep their own capital invested in the firm’s hedge funds. Also, most of the proceeds from the minority stake purchase will be reinvested in BlackGold funds, a KKR news release said.
The BlackGold ownership stake was acquired through KKR’s hedge fund strategic stakes and seeding business, which uses KKR corporate cash to buy minority interests in hedge funds. The BlackGold investment is KKR’s second hedge fund ownership deal; the first acquisition was a minority stake in Nephila Capital in 2013, the release said.
“We are always looking for exceptional teams with whom we can partner and this investment marks the culmination of those efforts. We believe (BlackGold’s) deep industry knowledge coupled with our energy franchise will benefit both parties and lead to new investment opportunities for our respective investors,” said Marc Lipschultz, KKR’s global head of energy and infrastructure, in a news release.
