A record fundraising quarter, a record $170 billion of dry powder, and carry guidance that rounds to zero. Ares is what the industry looks like when selling stops mattering.
ECP asked for $5 billion and closed on $8.1 billion. The label says energy transition; the purchases say LNG, nuclear and fuel distribution; the LPs say AI.
Carlyle, TPG and Brookfield all reported records this week. The footnotes: doubled deal fees, $35 million of realised carry, and $40 billion of Brookfield's own insurance money.
Record FRE, record SRE, record inflows, and $16 million of principal investing income. Apollo's quarter was superb everywhere except the line the industry is named after.
Two US buyout firms are in a shootout for an airline the London market priced at £4 in May. The winner gets easyJet. Stelios gets 0.25% of revenue either way.
