Korea Investment Corp., the $176.6 billion Seoul-based sovereign wealth fund, announced Friday it has acquired a less than 5% stake in New York-based direct lending firm Golub Capital.
A KIC spokeswoman said in an email that the investment in Golub, one of the fund's external managers, "marks KIC's first direct equity investment in an asset manager."
The spokeswoman declined to say how long Golub has managed money on KIC's behalf. But she said the investment is in line with KIC's continued efforts to expand allocations to alternative assets and broaden the sovereign wealth fund's investment capabilities.
One of KIC's strategic focuses is to expand opportunities for direct investments and co-investments, she said.
At the end of August, KIC's allocations to alternative asset classes stood at 21.3% of its portfolio, with plans to increase that proportion to 25% by 2025.
The spokeswoman said direct investments accounted for 32% of KIC's total allocations to alternatives, or $11.6 billion, up from 24%, or $2.7 billion, in 2015.
A joint news release by KIC and Golub said Golub will use the proceeds from KIC's investment to further boost its ability to deliver financing solutions to private equity sponsors.
KIC CEO Seoungho Jin said in the release expanding KIC's strategic partnership with Golub will "help us continue to diversify KIC's alternative asset portfolio and … deliver strong long-term investment performance."
A Golub Capital spokeswoman couldn't immediately be reached for comment. The firm's website says it has $55 billion in capital under management, including leverage.
