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Fortress Management and Mubadala to Acquire Fortress Investment Group

Fortress Investment Group (“Fortress”) and Mubadala Investment Company, through its wholly owned asset management subsidiary Mubadala Capital (“Mubadala Capital”), today announced that they have entered into definitive agreements to acquire 90.01% of the equity of Fortress that is currently held by SoftBank Group Corp. (“SoftBank”), who have been the owners of Fortress since 2017. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the deal is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

After transaction close, Fortress management is expected to own a 30% equity interest in the company and will hold a class of equity entitling Fortress management to appoint a majority of seats on the board. Mubadala Capital (which currently holds a 9.99% stake in Fortress through its Private Equity Funds II and III), will own 70% of Fortress equity.

After the closing, Fortress will continue to operate as an independent investment manager under the Fortress brand, with full autonomy over investment processes and decision making, personnel and operations. Drew McKnight and Joshua Pack will be appointed co-CEOs of Fortress and Pete Briger will be appointed Chairman. Mubadala Capital’s CEO and Managing Director, Hani Barhoush, who has served on Fortress’ board since 2019, will continue to serve on the board.

Dean Dakolias will continue in his role as Managing Partner and Tom Pulley will continue in his role as the CEO of the global Fortress Real Estate business. Jack Neumark has been appointed a Managing Partner and will continue to lead the Legal Assets business and co-head the Specialty Finance business, and Marc Furstein will continue in his role as President. Fortress co-Founders Wes Edens and Randy Nardone will continue to oversee the PCV business and remaining PE investments, including Brightline.

Under the new joint ownership, Fortress is expected to generate significant value for its stakeholders by further establishing itself in the alternative investment space, particularly in credit and real estate across public and private markets, where it currently manages $46 billion of assets on behalf of more than 1,900 institutional investors and private clients. Fortress is expected to benefit from Mubadala Capital’s global network and extensive portfolio of diversified assets, as well as its access to proprietary investment opportunities to support its growth and expansion.

Fortress’ Pete Briger, Drew McKnight and Joshua Pack said in a joint statement: “We are extremely pleased to deepen our relationship with Mubadala, partnering with one of the world’s most sophisticated investors in a transaction that will provide significant long-term benefits to our company, our employees and the clients we serve. We have worked closely with Mubadala for years and have enormous respect for their investment acumen and discipline. We view Mubadala’s further investment as an affirmation of the business model and investment approach we have embraced for more than 20 years, and—at a time when market dynamics are better aligned than ever before with our experience and expertise— we could not be more excited about the future of Fortress.”

Hani Barhoush, CEO and Managing Director of Mubadala Capital, said: “Fortress is a world-leading investment manager with a proven track record of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns to its investors throughout business cycles. Over the last 20 years, they have built an incredible franchise and established themselves as a premier credit and asset investor while simultaneously growing investment strategies across a wide range of asset classes. We have a strong existing relationship with Fortress’ exceptional management team, and are excited to deepen the relationship further in the years ahead based on a strong alignment of vision, while delivering even greater value to our investors.”

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals. Ardea Partners served as financial advisors and Shearman & Sterling served as legal counsel to Mubadala.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel to Fortress senior management in the transaction. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP represented Fortress in the transaction.

The Raine Group served as exclusive financial advisor and Morrison Foerster served as legal counsel to SoftBank.

About Fortress Investment Group

Fortress Investment Group LLC is a leading, highly diversified global investment manager. Founded in 1998, Fortress manages $45.8 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2022, on behalf of over 1,900 institutional clients and private investors worldwide across a range of credit and real estate, private equity and permanent capital investment strategies.

About Mubadala Capital

Mubadala Capital is the asset management subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, a leading global sovereign investor headquartered in Abu Dhabi. In addition to managing its own balance sheet investments, Mubadala Capital manages c. $20 billion in aggregate across its own balance sheet investments and in third-party capital vehicles on behalf of institutional investors, including four private equity funds, three early-stage venture funds and two funds in Brazil focused on special situations.

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Announcements Comercial Legal Innovation

Sentry Expands Free Funding Market Search for Litigators

By John Freund |

Sentry Funding’s free tool enabling litigators to instantly search the funding market on behalf of clients has been expanded.

Sentry’s free ‘decision in principle’ feature enables lawyers to evidence to clients that they have conducted a broad market search, even if funding is not ultimately taken out.

Having deployed £125m in funding across a range of case types, Sentry now has access to an even broader funding marketplace, covering 34 global jurisdictions. Finance is provided by 13 funders, five of which are members of the Association of Litigation Funders.

With the recent addition of Sentry’s first US-based funder, the US offering will now be expanding over the next few months. 

A faster process

Sentry has deployed the latest technology to make the search for funding even easier. 

  • The intuitive application process now only asks questions relevant to previous answers, saving lawyers time.
  • The commercial marketplace has been redeveloped with 63 new data points added to the funder criteria matrix - improving the accuracy of case / funder matching
  • Sentry has also begun building out its AI capabilities, starting with an automated auditing tool for live case progression audits. 

Tom Webster, chief executive officer at Sentry Funding, said:

‘By broadening our reach and speeding up the process, we’re making it even easier for lawyers to raise funding. We’re also giving litigators an easy way to show clients they have fully researched the market, rather than just approaching one or two funders. 

‘The service is free to use, so even if clients decide they do not ultimately want funding or if none is available for that case, for the lawyer, it makes sense to use our “decision in principle” feature, so they can put evidence on file that they did check the market.’

Sentry Funding is an SaaS (software as a service) technology provider that gives solicitors access to a diverse marketplace of litigation funders. It works with solicitors, funders and third-party providers to ensure claimants are getting the most efficient service for their funding needs. 

The Sentry Portal also acts as a case management system that runs a transparent digital case file for solicitors, funders, after-the-event insurance providers, barristers, cost lawyers and other relevant third parties.

Announcements Comercial

NorthWall Capital Hits €2.9 B AUM on Private Credit Momentum

By John Freund |

NorthWall Capital has rocketed past €2.9 billion in assets under management after pulling in an additional €1.6 billion of institutional capital in 2025 alone. The London-based alternative credit manager says the surge reflects allocators’ intensifying hunt for scaled, multi-strategy platforms as Europe’s banks retrench and borrowers seek bespoke sources of credit.

A press release from NorthWall Capital details first-close totals across four distinct strategies. The flagship Credit Opportunities fund secured €731 million—already eclipsing its prior vintage—while the newly launched Senior Lending vehicle raised $503 million, translating to roughly $750 million of deployable firepower once leverage is applied. Asset-Backed Opportunities collected €252 million for collateral-rich loans in sectors underserved by traditional lenders, and the specialist Legal Assets platform locked down $169 million to extend the firm’s law-firm lending programme.

Founder and CIO Fabian Chrobog said the fundraising validates “the consistency of our approach” and NorthWall’s ability to craft solutions that resonate with investors and counterparties alike. With headcount slated to hit 40 by year-end, the firm plans to lean further into complex, situational credit born of bank deleveraging, regulatory shifts and sponsors’ need for certainty of execution.

Announcements Comercial People Moves

Victory Park Expands Legal Credit Leadership with Maleson Promotion

By John Freund |

Victory Park Capital (VPC), a global alternative asset manager specializing in private credit, has announced that Justin Maleson will expand his role to Managing Director, co-heading the firm’s legal credit investment strategy. The promotion underscores VPC’s ongoing investment in its legal finance capabilities and follows Maleson’s initial appointment in 2024 as Assistant General Counsel.

An announcement from Victory Park Capital details Maleson’s new responsibilities, which include sourcing, analyzing, and managing investments across legal assets, while maintaining oversight of the firm’s legal operations. He joins Chad Clamage in co-leading the strategy, working alongside team members Hugo Lestiboudois and Andrew Pascal, under the continued oversight of VPC CEO and founder Richard Levy.

Maleson brings a strong background in litigation finance and commercial law to the position. Before joining VPC, he served as a director at Longford Capital, where he specialized in originating and managing litigation funding transactions. His earlier tenure as a litigation partner at Jenner & Block further deepened his exposure to complex legal matters, equipping him with the expertise needed to navigate the nuanced legal credit space.

VPC’s legal credit team emphasizes an asset-backed lending model, prioritizing downside protection and predictable income streams. The firm aims to capitalize on inefficiencies within the legal funding market by leveraging its internal expertise and broad network of relationships. With Maleson’s appointment, VPC signals its intent to further scale its legal credit strategy, positioning itself as a key player in the evolving legal finance sector.

Maleson’s elevation comes at a time of increasing sophistication in litigation finance, where experienced legal minds are playing a pivotal role in portfolio construction and risk management. As VPC bolsters its leadership, the move may foreshadow further institutionalization of legal asset investing and heightened competition in a maturing market segment.