All Access

Fintech Deals

Standard

Fintech Deals Alerts

Alert

Fintech Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Private Credit

BFD Expert Voices

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

pittsburgh

atlanta

san-diego

charlotte

boulder

washington-dc

kansas-city

dallas

denver

detroit

des-moines

austin

boston

chicago

cleveland

columbus

houston

indianapolis

miami

nashville

new-orleans

nw-arkansas

philadelphia

phoenix

portland

richmond

salt-lake-city

san-antonio

san-francisco

seattle

tampa-bay

twin-cities

raleigh

huntsville

colorado-springs

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

The sale of a Victory Park Capital stake to Janus Henderson last month underlines the shifting dynamics of the private equity and GP market.

Why it matters: Dealmakers have increasingly become parts of deals themselves.

Driving the news: The acquisition comes as a record number of private market players are expected to consolidate this year to address stiffer competition, generational changes and a need to free up LP capital.

Flashback: Victory Park sold a 24.9% stake in 2018 to Pacific Current, an Australian asset manager.

Then last year, Pacific began divesting assets — going from stakes in 15 firms in early 2023 to 11 in mid-2024.

Hoping to find a buyer with a similar perspective, Victory Park Capital began speaking with potential acquirers around the same time, Axios has learned.

Janus took part of its stake earlier this year.

What they're saying: "What makes us excited about the partnership is we're keeping our brand — our strategy isn't changing at all," says Victory Park co-founder Brendan Carroll. "But now we get the benefit of Janus' distribution team around the world. It just makes the fundraising a lot more efficient."

By the numbers: Pacific Current Group paid about $70 million for its stake in 2018 and gave that investment a fair value of about $92.8 million at the end of 2023.

Janus Henderson paid $33.9 million to Pacific Current for an 11.2% stake in Victory Park and 19.4% of carried interest entitlements on new funds.

Pacific Current could also receive up to $28.7 million if Victory Park hits certain milestones in 2025 and 2026.

Janus Henderson will also retain the right to acquire the remaining stake of the company.

Between the lines: This comes as Victory Park Capital has been raising funds for its opportunistic credit strategy, which notched $2.4 billion in 2022.

According to SEC filings, the next iterations of those funds have raised some $345.7 million so far.

The big picture: Victory Park has been heavily involved in fintech, committing a $200 million debt facility to Petal in 2023  and $100 million to Pipe in June.

The credit investor remains interested in the space, particularly in deals where it know what the end borrower is using the capital for.

"I like these need-based product or services where [you get a loan] to get your car fixed or to pay your rent, utilities or a medical procedure — products or services where there's complete transparency into where the capital is being used," he says.

These specific categories offer specific data points about the borrowers, making the default rates more predictable to both the fintech and Victory Park Capital, he says.

Context: This all comes as the benefits of scale have become increasingly important for credit managers and private equity firms.

"The bigger your platform, the more cheaply you can source capital," says PitchBook senior analyst Tim Clarke. LPs have been favoring larger funds that often have longer track records over players with smaller AUMs.

Notably, Victory Park Capital's focus on asset-backed private credit is remains an esoteric part of the market — though one that is gaining  interest as LPs investors seek yield.

The bottom line: It's been rare to see even a partial exit of a GP stake, but the pre-pandemic consolidation trend is picking back up.

"We are in consolidation mode. ... You don't need 10,000+ managers out there," says PitchBook's Clarke.

There have been 89 deals involving GPs in the first half of 2024 alone, compared with 114 in all of 2021, the prior record.

What's behind Janus Henderson's Victory Park deal

The details show consolidation has started to return.

Illustration of two hands shaking with money shapes and textures surrounding them

Fintech

The sale of a Victory Park Capital stake to Janus Henderson last month underlines the shifting dynamics of the private equity and GP market.Why it matters: Dealmakers have increasingly become parts of deals themselves.

What's behind Janus Henderson's Victory Park deal

What to read next