Ares Management to acquire GCP International

Ares Management has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the international business of GLP Capital Partners and certain of its affiliates, excluding its operations in Greater China, and existing capital commitments to certain managed funds, in a transaction valued at $3.7B. The consideration includes approximately $1.8B in cash and approximately $1.9B in Ares Class A Common Shares. The transaction is structured to include long-term performance incentives designed to align GCP International leadership with the interests of fund clients and Ares stockholders. The acquisition nearly doubles Ares’ assets under management to approximately $96B across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. The transaction is expected to be modestly accretive to Ares’ after-tax realized income per share of Class A and non-voting common stock in the first full calendar year following the acquisition with meaningfully higher accretion expected in future years. GCP International is a global alternative asset management firm with $44B of AUM, as of June 30. GCP International has local presence in major geographies, including Japan, Europe and the U.S. It is also gaining a reputation as a player in global data center investing and operations with several large hyperscale development projects in process, representing over 1GW of IT capacity in key markets across London, Tokyo, Osaka and Sao Paulo, and has a substantial pipeline for future growth. The transaction will follow a separation of GCP International from GLP Capital Partners’ remaining business, which will remain independent and headquartered in Singapore with a focus on investing in Greater China. Mei will serve as CEO of GLP and GCP’s remaining business, along with its leadership team in China and a select number of other global executives. He will also continue to support GCP International’s and Ares’ growth and success as an Ares Partner and Senior Advisor. Steele and GCP International’s leadership teams responsible for managing and operating the funds in Japan, Europe, the U.S., Brazil and Vietnam will join Ares as part of the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025. Ares has secured fully committed bridge financing in relation to the transaction.