PHOTO
Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala Capital and New York-based Fortress Investment Group (Fortress) have completed the buyout of the majority (90.01%) stake in Fortress that was previously held by SoftBank Group.
With the close of the deal, a consortium led by Mubadala now owns 68% of Fortress equity, while Fortress management owns 32%.
Last year, Mubadala and Fortress Investment entered into definitive agreements to acquire most of the equity of Fortress.
SoftBank had been the owners of Fortress since 2017, while Mubadala previously held a 9.99% stake through its Private Equity Funds II and III.
Under the new joint ownership, Fortress expects to further establish itself as a leader in the alternative investment space.
Fortress currently manages more than $48 billion in assets on behalf of around 2,000 institutional investors and private clients.
Fortress management is also entitled to appoint a majority of seats on the board.
Fortress expects to benefit from Mubadala Capital’s global network and extensive portfolio of diversified assets.
Mubadala Capital’s CEO and Managing Director, Hani Barhoush, who has served on Fortress’ board since 2019 will continue to serve on the board.
"Looking ahead, we are confident that collectively, we will unlock significant value creation opportunities and deliver superior risk adjusted returns to our investors and to Fortress’ stakeholders,” Barhoush said.
Ardea Partners served as financial advisor and Shearman & Sterling LLP (now A&O Shearman) 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.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
