Allianz Global Investors announced it will acquire New York-based private credit manager Sound Harbor Partners, a spokeswoman confirmed.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. The entire staff of Sound Harbor Partners, led by partners Michael Zupon and Dean Criares, will join Allianz GI as the U.S. private credit solutions team, she added. Mr. Zupon is chief investment officer at Sound Harbor and will become CIO of U.S. private credit solutions; Mr. Criares is chairman at Sound Harbor and will take on the title of head of U.S. private credit solutions.
Sound Harbor focuses on alternative investments in corporate loans, direct lending, distressed debt and opportunistic credit. The firm’s assets will be acquired for an undisclosed sum, Allianz GI said in a news release Thursday.
As of Sept. 30, Allianz’s alternatives assets under management stood at $22 billion. Sound Harbor has about $1 billion in AUM.
“Within our fast-growing alternatives segment, private debt stands out as a particularly exciting area, where we’ve clearly signaled our intent to expand our capabilities to address our clients’ evolving investment needs,” Andreas Utermann, CEO and global chief investment officer of Allianz GI, said in a news release.
Deborah Zurkow, head of alternatives at Allianz GI, added in the same release: “Sound Harbor's expertise enhances Allianz GI’s existing global alternatives capability, which includes infrastructure debt and a fast-growing corporate loans capability in Paris, underlining our desire to establish ourselves as one of the most prominent private debt managers globally,” she said.
