Blue Owl Starts a $2 Billion Private-Credit Fund for Wealth Push

(Bloomberg) -- Blue Owl Capital Inc., the nearly $100 billion investment firm known for its direct-lending business, is expanding a push to attract high-net-worth clients through a new private-credit vehicle. 

Owl Rock Technology Income Corp. raised more than $500 million to focus on direct lending in the technology industry, the firm said Monday in a statement. The fund, structured as a non-traded business-development company, totals about $2 billion including leverage. 

“This access to the technology sector is especially important as we enter periods of increased market volatility,” Chief Executive Officer Doug Ostrover and co-President Marc Lipschultz said in the statement. 

Blue Owl is joining rivals including Blackstone Inc. and Apollo Global Management Inc. in forging into investments for wealthy individuals after many years of managing money for institutions. The push is so large across the industry that Blackstone has said its own retail assets could surge to $500 billion over time, while Apollo has hired about 150 people in the past year alone to lure retail clients.

Blue Owl started its technology investments in 2018, according to a presentation. It said it hasn't suffered any defaults on loans in that sector since then. 

The firm has been lending to borrowers affiliated with private equity firms such as Thoma Bravo, Silver Lake and the Carlyle Group Inc., according to the presentation. 

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