Ares Management has held the final closing of its fifth global flexible capital private equity fund, Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund V with USD 7.85 billion in committed capital.
Fundraising began in the third quarter of 2015 with an initial target of USD6.5 billion.
The total raised includes USD250 million of GP commitments principally from employees and USD7.6 billion of third-party commitments. Approximately 80 per cent of the Fund’s limited partner commitments came from existing investors in one or more of the Ares Private Equity Group’s four prior ACOF funds.
ACOF V will continue to execute the investment strategy employed by the prior ACOF funds, pursuing opportunistic investments in primarily North American and European businesses with strong franchises and world class management teams where the Ares Private Equity Group can help unlock additional growth opportunities through its flexible capital. The Ares Private Equity Group has the experience and expertise to execute a range of transactions across market cycles, including traditional control buyouts, growth equity, distressed for control and rescue investments. This flexible capital approach, combined with the additional deal flow and diligence resources provided by the broader Ares Management platform, expands the universe of potential investment opportunities and allows Ares to remain highly selective in its pursuit of compelling risk-reward opportunities in a variety of market conditions.
The Ares Private Equity Group has a long track record, investing for over 12 years across 48 platform investments in the prior ACOF funds. Over this period, the prior ACOF funds have generated an aggregate gross IRR of 23 per cent and a net IRR of 16 per cent. Currently, the ACOF portfolio covers businesses across a variety of industries including companies such as: Smart & Final, Farrow & Ball, National Veterinary Associates, Blackbrush, American Tire Distributors, CPG International and Insight Global. Additionally, the group has demonstrated an ability to deploy capital across market cycles having invested approximately 40 per cent of the prior funds’ capital in distressed situations and 60 per cent in traditional private equity situations.
“We greatly appreciate the tremendous support of our limited partners and thank them for the trust placed in us as responsible stewards of their capital,” says David Kaplan, Co-Founder of Ares Management, L.P. and Co-Head of the Ares Private Equity Group. “We believe that the strong and favorable response of our limited partners to this fundraising process reflects their confidence in the strength of the Ares investment platform, the Private Equity team and our expertise in creating value and driving growth at our portfolio companies.”
“We believe our demonstrated investment discipline, ability to invest across market cycles and consistent track record of performance were integral to a successful fundraise in a short period of time,” says Bennett Rosenthal, Co-Founder of Ares Management, L.P. and Co-Head of the Ares Private Equity Group. “We are excited to have this new pool of capital to deploy in compelling risk-reward opportunities for our limited partners.”
