Owl Rock seeks up to $1bn for private fund

After posting its strongest origination quarter to date, Owl Rock Capital Partners put the wheels in motion to raise a private fund in addition to its business development company, Owl Rock Capital Corporation (ORCC).

The New York-based credit manager is looking for up to $1 billion for its Owl Rock First Lien Fund. The firm recently rounded up $5.5 billion for the direct lender’s flagship BDC.

The disclosure of the first lien speciality vehicle comes after ORCC posted $1.3 billion in gross originations in the first three months of 2018, adding nine new portfolio companies and making eight additional investments in existing borrowers.

The alternative asset manager, which was not available for comment, currently has a majority exposure of first lien loans.

ORCC holds $3.07 billion in total assets, and nearly 68 percent of the investments are composed of first lien senior secured loans, according to Thomson Reuters BDC Collateral. Similarly, Owl Rock’s second BDC, Owl Rock Capital Corporation II, holds $229.31 million in total assets, and approximately 61 percent of its holdings are in first lien senior secured loans. The firm has no loans on non-accrual.

Since inception, Owl Rock BDCs have originated $4.9 billion with 47 companies and 41 private equity sponsors, according to the firm’s mid-year update.

The firm is led by Douglas Ostrover, who left Blackrock’s GSO in 2015 to found Owl Rock Capital Partners with Marc Lipschultz, the former global head of energy and infrastructure at KKR, and Craig Packer, the former co-head of leveraged finance in the Americas at Goldman Sachs.