Ares Management Corporation announced that its subsidiary, Ares Holdings L.P., has completed its previously disclosed acquisition of a controlling interest in SSG Capital Holdings Limited and its operating subsidiaries (collectively, “SSG”), a leading Asian alternative asset management firm.
With more than 70 professionals and over $6 billion in assets under management, as of March 31, 2020, SSG is focused on providing its global investor base with highly differentiated alternative investment strategies across Asia. Led by a highly experienced management team that has achieved attractive investment performance across various market cycles, SSG is regarded as one of the top investment firms in Asia with numerous industry distinctions and accolades for its lending and distressed activities. The team brings comprehensive regional sourcing networks across India, China, Indonesia, Thailand and other Asian countries. Going forward, SSG will operate under the Ares SSG brand and Edwin Wong, Shyam Maheshwari, Andreas Vourloumis and Peter Cairns will join the Ares Management Committee.
Ares SSG and its stakeholders will benefit from Ares’ knowledge, networks and resources as they seek to continue to capitalize on current investment opportunities and build out the investment offering over time. Ares has developed market leading private credit franchises in North America and Europe and believes the combination with SSG will be highly valued by both Ares and SSG’s existing relationships and new investor prospects.
“The integration and launch of Ares SSG expands our global leadership position in private credit and enhances our ability to provide investment capabilities to investors across a strategic and high-growth region,” said Michael Arougheti, Chief Executive Officer and President of Ares. “We believe the Ares SSG team’s local experience, long tenure and demonstrated track record investing through multiple economic cycles will be invaluable given current market dynamics.”
“We are very pleased to finalize the combination of our complementary platforms,” said Edwin Wong, Co-Managing Partner and CEO of Ares SSG. “By leveraging the power of our seasoned team, long-standing operations within the pan-Asian market and our expansive scale and capabilities, we plan to enhance our differentiated and comprehensive alternative investment offering to meet growing investor demands.”
“This is an exciting opportunity for Ares to fortify its on-the-ground presence in Asia and replicate the success that Ares has attained in North America and Europe,” said Eric Vimont, Co-Managing Partner and Head of Strategy for Ares SSG. “The Ares SSG platform is well positioned to build upon existing relationships and local infrastructure to provide underserved middle market companies in Asia with an alternative to traditional capital sources. Each region will present a different opportunity set that will evolve over time and this platform is well suited to be able to address those needs.”