Ares buyout quest signals fresh strategic march

Ares Management has held talks to buy Leonard Green & Partners, a private equity firm with roughly $85 billion of assets under management, the Financial Times reported on July 27, citing unnamed sources.

The credit-focused shop led by Michael Arougheti is circling private equity firm Leonard Green and the $85 billion it manages. A deal of this sort would reverse the typical expansion route. Greater significance of retail investors and fund size invites consolidation in many forms.