Investcorp Launches Business to Take Minority Stakes in Midsize Alts Firms

Investcorp, an alternative investment firm with ties to the Gulf Cooperation Council, is forming a new group to take stakes in midsize alternative investment managers.

The $22.6 billion manager has hired Anthony Maniscalco, who was most recently co-head of Credit Suisse’s Anteil Capital Partners group, to head up the new business. Investcorp will take minority equity interests of less than 25 percent in mature alternative investment managers, including private equity, private debt, real estate, venture capital, and hedge fund firms.

Anteil Capital, which was set up by Credit Suisse to take stakes in hedge funds, was shut down late last year. Before Anteil, Maniscalco was on the investment committee of Blackstone Strategic Capital Holdings, which also invests in alternative investment firms.

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Investcorp has also hired David Lee as a partner and Dhanraj Chandiramani as a vice president. Both worked with Maniscalco at Credit Suisse.

Taking stakes in hedge funds and private equity firms has become a lucrative business. Pensions, endowments, and other institutions, who have pressured hedge funds for fee deals, have nonetheless been eager to invest in products that own stakes in alternative firms themselves.

In 2009, Neuberger Berman raised more than $1 billion for its Dyal Capital Partners fund, which buys minority stakes in hedge fund firms. Since its launch, Dyal has completed 40 transactions with over $14 billion in assets.