Brookfield to Acquire Majority Share of Oaktree

Brookfield Asset Management announced it has agreed to acquire 62 percent of Oaktree Capital Management. The Oaktree board of directors unanimously recommended that Oaktree unitholders approve the transaction, according to a press release announcing the deal.

Both Brookfield and Oaktree will continue to operate their businesses independently, led by its existing management and investment teams. Howard Marks, co-chairman of Oaktree, will join Brookfield’s board of directors.

Together, the two companies will have approximately $475 billion of assets under management and $2.5 billion of annual fee-related revenues.

“As we continue to strategically grow Brookfield, we are thrilled to be partnering with Oaktree and with its exceptional management team whose credit business is second to none,” said Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield, in prepared remarks. “This transaction enables us to broaden our product offering to include one of the finest credit platforms in the world, which has a value-driven, contrarian investment style, consistent with ours.”

The news comes on the same day that Brookfield Business Partners, an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management, announced an agreement to sell BGIS to CCMP Capital Advisors for $1 billion.

A BIG YEAR

Both Brookfield and Oaktree have been busy adding assets to their portfolio over the past year.

Last month, Brookfield Asset Management closed on its largest real estate fund to date, raising $15 billion for its global private real estate fund, Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners III. In April 2018, Brookfield Property Partners acquired retail owner GGP Inc., for $15.2 billion, while late last year, Brookfield Asset Management closed on its purchase of Forest City Realty Trust for $11.4 billion.

Oaktree Capital has focused on office properties in metros across the U.S. and Canada, picking up assets in joint ventures in Tampa, Fla., San Francisco, Orange County, Calif. and Calgary, Canada. The firm also picked up a $134 million office tower in Charlotte, N.C., in May of 2018.