CVC to Buy US Credit Manager Marathon in $1.2 Billion Deal

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CVC to Buy US Credit Manager Marathon in $1.2 Billion Deal.

deals & business :: 2026-01-26 :: source - bloomberg

By Leonard Kehnscherper, Swetha Gopinath and Silas Brown

(Bloomberg) -- CVC Capital Partners Plc agreed to buy Marathon Asset Management as part of efforts to widen its footprint in US credit markets, the latest example of consolidation among alternative investment firms.

Amsterdam-listed CVC will buy Marathon in a cash and equity transaction with a base consideration valued at as much as $1.2 billion, comprising $400 million in cash and as much as $800 million in CVC equity, according to a statement Monday. The deal also includes earnout consideration linked to Marathon’s future financial performance over 2027 to 2029, of up to $200 million in cash and $200 million in CVC equity.

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“The US credit market is a key priority for us, and we have been patiently working out and waiting to find the right opportunity to find a firm that meets the exceptionally high quality of returns that we’re looking for,” Peter Rutland, who was promoted to president of CVC last month, said in an interview on Monday.

With Marathon’s positions in asset-based, real estate, opportunistic and public credit in the US, the acquisition expands CVC’s access to a large and fast-growing market in the world’s biggest economy, according to the statement. The deal is expected to be accretive to earnings-per-share from 2028 onwards, before any revenue or cost synergies. CVC shares declined as much as 1.8% in early trading on Monday in Amsterdam.

The market for alternative investment firms has become increasingly hot in recent years, with larger players looking to grow in areas where they’ve lacked scale, while founders of specialist companies prepare to retire. Swedish private equity firm EQT AB agreed on Jan. 22 to buy Coller Capital Ltd. for $3.2 billion to gain a foothold in the booming market for secondaries, one of the fastest growing segments of the industry.

In a research note, Citigroup Inc. analysts said the Marathon deal allows CVC “to fill the white space that is US credit (particularly in a very fast-growing US asset-backed market) and should allow it to accelerate growth in its two growth priorities: private wealth and insurance.”

Growth Through Deals

CVC Chief Executive Officer Rob Lucas has been pursuing selective acquisitions as he looks to expand his firm’s offerings as a multistrategy private equity player and compete against the likes of KKR & Co. in credit. The company had previously explored opportunities in the private credit space, Bloomberg News has reported. Other past deals include Glendower Capital in a bid to gain a foothold in the fast-growing market for secondaries, and a majority stake in DIF Capital Partners to expand its infrastructure offering.

Photographer: Lam Yik/Bloomberg

The Marathon acquisition also comes a week after the buyout firm struck a $3.5 billion partnership with US insurer American International Group Inc. to deploy the latter’s capital. Rutland said these partnerships are an important way of “further accelerating our ability to offer our full range of services to the insurance industry,” adding CVC isn’t focused on acquiring majority positions in any insurer.

Such tie-ups between private capital and insurance firms are gathering pace, as asset managers, particularly those that are listed, seek access to readily available, low-cost capital to deploy into private equity, private credit, infrastructure and real estate.

Founded in 1998 by Bruce Richards and Lou Hanover, Marathon oversees more than $24 billion in assets with a team of roughly 190 global professionals, according to its website.

The combination will boost fee-paying assets under management at CVC’s credit unit by more than a third to €61 billion ($72 billion). Richards and Hanover will continue to co-head the Marathon credit strategies, and Marathon will be rebranded CVC-Marathon, according to the statement.

‘Unique Opportunity’

The Marathon deal came about after nearly a year of talks, but the relationship between the two companies dates back a lot further, with Marathon having financed a number of CVC investments, Rutland said.

“Marathon was not for sale,” Richards said separately, adding that he wouldn’t consider this transaction to be an exit. He said this deal was “a very unique opportunity for us to think about how we propel our firm.”

The New York-based asset manager has been involved in creditor negotiations ranging from Greece during the European debt crisis to AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. more recently.

It headed First Brands’ steering committee and took the lead in providing the auto-parts supplier a $1.1 billion debtor-in-possession loan in October. Two months later, the price on that loan plunged to about 30 cents on the dollar. First Brands was one of the biggest distressed situations in 2025, spooking investors across Wall Street and prompting questions about the hidden risks in private markets.

Marathon’s last fundraising for its global opportunistic strategy closed with $2.7 billion in commitments in March 2025.

--With assistance from Francesca Veronesi and Dana El Baltaji.