KKR buys 24.9% of Marshall Wace

The deal with Marshall Wace will bolster the GP's presence in liquid alternatives and includes an option for KKR to increase ownership to 39.9%. Most of the proceeds will be reinvested in Marshall Wace's funds and held in KKR common units.

The buyer did not reveal how much it is paying for the stake, but indicated that the deal included both cash and common shares. Marshall Wace will continue to operate independently.

The partnership with Marshall Wace is part of a new attempt by KKR to become a one-stop-shop asset manager. KKR's last effort in the sector ended hapless: in 2011, the GP launched a hedge fund with $510m in assets, after hiring a group of nine proprietary traders from investment bank Goldman Sachs. In 2014, KKR decided to terminate the hedge fund. 

In the last decade, big private equity players have been trying to widen their product range. Buying into hedge funds is part of that strategy. Blackstone for example has invested in three hedge funds: Senator Investment Group, Solus Alternative Asset Management and most recently Magnetar Capital Partners, in which it bought a stake in May 2015. 

KKR's transaction will close later this year and is awaiting regulatory approval.

Founded in 1997 and based in London, Marshall Wace is a hedge fund manager that specialises in global, long and short equity strategies. It has more than $22bn of assets under management as of August 2015. Marshall Wace also has a marketplace lending business called MW Eaglewood, which specialises in direct lending and peer-to-peer investment strategies.

Johannes Huth is the head of KKR Europe, Africa and Middle East. Ian Wace is chief executive of Marshall Wace.

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