Blue Owl Capital Inc. ("Blue Owl") has announced its definitive agreement to acquire the business of digital infrastructure fund manager IPI Partners, LLC ("IPI") from an affiliate of Iconiq Capital and an affiliate of Iron Point Partners for approximately $1.0 billion. This acquisition is expected to bring approximately $10.5 billion in assets under management to Blue Owl.
IPI, founded in 2016, has grown into one of the largest private US-based data center investors with a portfolio of 82 data centers comprising over 2.2GWs of leased capacity across the US, EMEA, and APAC. As of June 30, 2024, the firm had approximately $10.5 billion in assets under management.
Upon closing of the acquisition, IPI’s business will further enhance Blue Owl’s digital infrastructure strategy as part of the firm’s real estate platform. IPI’s employees are expected to join Blue Owl and will continue to manage IPI’s existing funds.
Blue Owl anticipates the acquisition to be neutral to its earnings in 2025 and modestly accretive in 2026. Blue Owl will also partner with an affiliate of Iconiq to accelerate the future growth of the business.
The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024 or the first quarter of 2025, subject to certain closing conditions including third party consents.
Blue Owl's Co-CEOs, Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz, highlighted that the acquisition of IPI complements their existing net lease strategy while providing an ideal opportunity to expand Blue Owl’s digital infrastructure strategy.
Following the acquisition, IPI’s managing partner, Matt A’Hearn, will become the head of Blue Owl’s digital infrastructure strategy and report to Blue Owl Co-President Marc Zahr.
The transaction is being advised by Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Societe Generale, and TD Securities (USA) LLC as co-financial advisors to Blue Owl.
Blue Owl's investor presentation with respect to the acquisition is available on the shareholders section of its website.
Blue Owl will host a conference call on Monday, October 7, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss the transaction.
Blue Owl (NYSE: OWL) is a leading asset manager with over $192 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2024, investing across three multi-strategy platforms: credit, GP strategic capital, and real estate.
Iconiq Capital and Iron Point Partners, the sellers of IPI, also provided statements expressing excitement about the acquisition and the opportunities it presents for the future. The market has reacted to these announcements by moving the company's shares 0.7% to a price of $21.04. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.
