Stephanie W. Berdik, P.C.

Kirkland & Ellis advised Vista Credit Partners, a strategic credit investor and financing partner focused on the enterprise software, data and technology markets within Vista Equity Partners, on the final close of Vista Credit Partners Fund III (“VCPF III”), the latest iteration of its Flagship Credit Fund family. VCPF III closed at $2.3 billion, $800 million in excess of its original $1.5 billion target, with capital commitments from a diverse group of limited partners including U.S. public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, multinational corporations, insurance companies, funds of funds, endowments, foundations, family offices and other investors. Read the Vista Credit Partners press release The Kirkland team was led by investment funds partners Stephanie Berdik, Barry LeVine and Kyle Garry, tax partners Daniel Meehan, Meredith Levy and Miles Johnson, corporate associates Steve Healy and Allison McTague, and regulatory partners Norm Champ and Alpa Patel.

Oct 4

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Ares Management Corporation (Ares), a leading global alternative investment manager, on the final closing of Ares Special Opportunities Fund II (“ASOF II”). With strong global investor support, ASOF II closed at its hard cap with $7.1 billion of commitments, including General Partner commitments, which far surpassed its $4.0 billion target. Read the Ares press release The Kirkland team was led by investment funds partners Stephanie Berdik and Charles Chen and associates Daniel Sylvia, Mark Raymond and Afsha Lakdawala Chowdhury, and tax partners Meredith Levy and Miles Johnson and associate Weiwei Chen.

Nov 3

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised alternative asset manager Blue Owl Capital on a strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi-based global sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company. The partnership was established with a $1 billion commitment to Blue Owl’s Credit platform, which will focus initially on Blue Owl’s Technology Lending strategy. Blue Owl has $150 billion in assets under management and three multi-strategy platforms: Credit, GP Strategic Capital and Real Estate. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team was led by investment funds partners Rob Blaustein and Stephanie Berdik and tax partners Meredith Levy and Miles Johnson.

Sep 18

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Blue Owl (NYSE: OWL), a leading alternative asset manager, on the fund formation of its inaugural opportunistic offering, the Owl Rock Opportunistic Fund. The fund held its final closing with $2.0 billion in aggregate capital commitments to the strategy.  Together with anticipated leverage, the strategy will have $2.5 billion of investable capital and will provide tailored financing and capital solutions to support leading middle market companies. The strategy attracted strong interest and backing from a diverse group of global investors, including pension funds, endowments, foundations, family offices and asset managers. Read the Blue Owl press release The Kirkland team was led by investment funds partners Stephanie Berdik, Robert Blaustein, Townshine Wu and Matt Smith, and associates Mat Eapen, Natalie Gallon, Daniel Sylvia and Aubrey Trudeau, tax partners Meredith Levy and Michael Milazzo and associate Ashley Flor, and employee benefits partner Elizabeth Dyer.

Jul 28

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) on the Ares Pathfinder Fund II, L.P. and Ares Pathfinder Fund II (Offshore), L.P. The final closing of the fund was announced October 30, 2023 and included $6.6 billion in commitments, which exceeded the initial $5 billion target after the fund was oversubscribed. The fund is approximately 80 percent larger than the predecessor fund. The Ares Alternative Credit team will use the Pathfinder II Fund to pursue a differentiated strategy of providing scaled solutions tailored to owners of large, diversified portfolios of assets that seek to generate resilient, contractual cash flows across market cycles. Ares is one of the largest investors in asset-based credit and manages approximately $27.8 billion in assets under management, including the Pathfinder family of funds. Read the Ares press release The Kirkland team was led by investment funds partners Stephanie Berdik and Shreyas Jhaveri and included investment funds partner Scott Lenahan and associates John Jameson, Iris Ryou, Michael Sitcawich and Maggie Spinard; tax partners Meredith Levy and Miles Johnson and associate Weiwei Chen; investment funds ERISA partner Sabrina Glaser and associate Theodore Brown; and government, regulatory & internal investigations partner Nick Niles.

Nov 30

1 min