Overview
- Blue Owl completed a $1.4 billion sale of direct loans at about 99.7% of par to four unnamed North American pension and insurance buyers, with assets sourced from OBDC II ($600 million), OBDC ($400 million) and OTIC/OTF ($400 million).
- OBDC II will permanently replace quarterly redemptions with periodic return‑of‑capital distributions, targeting roughly 30% of its net asset value to investors in Q1, which the company says will be paid within about 45 days.
- The sold loans span 128 companies across 27 industries and are 97% senior secured, with the largest exposure in software and internet services at about 13%, a focal point for investor concern tied to AI‑driven disruption.
- Proceeds will be used to return capital at OBDC II and to reduce leverage in the other funds, with Blue Owl emphasizing that the near‑par pricing aligns with its book marks.
- Shares of Blue Owl fell nearly 6% Thursday and slid further Friday premarket as peers including Apollo, Ares, KKR and Carlyle declined, while analysts split on whether the move validates valuations or signals rising withdrawal pressure; Blue Owl maintains it is changing the form of liquidity, not halting it.