Kirkland Advises Ares on Raising $12.7 Billion to Invest in Asset-Based Finance
Kirkland & Ellis advised Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES), a leading global alternative investment manager, on the final closing of Ares Pathfinder Fund III, L.P. and Ares Pathfinder Fund III (Offshore), L.P., totaling $8.5 billion in LP commitments. The fund was oversubscribed and closed at its increased hard cap, well in excess of its $6.5 billion target and its $6.6 billion 2023 vintage Pathfinder II fund. The fund held its first and final closing less than six months after its launch in January 2026 and represents the largest global asset-based finance (ABF) fund in the market, underscoring the significant investor demand for Ares’ leading capabilities in ABF and tactical asset-focused investing. As previously announced, investors representing approximately $4 billion of commitments in Pathfinder II elected to extend the reinvestment period for an additional two years. Inclusive of this incremental capacity, Pathfinder III and related transaction vehicles, Ares Alternative Credit’s Pathfinder closed-end strategy raised approximately $12.7 billion to invest in ABF in the last nine months.
Read the transaction press release
The Kirkland team included investment funds lawyers Stephanie Berdik, Shreyas Jhaveri, Camille Mott, Charlotte Odence, Michael Colletti, Caroline Shoopman and Laura Reynolds; tax lawyers Meredith Levy, Brandon Short, Jesse Stricof and Brittany Nguyen; investment funds ERISA lawyers Sabrina Glaser and Ted Brown; investment funds regulatory lawyers Melissa Gainor and Jennifer Kim-Gange; litigation lawyer Nick Niles; and financial services regulatory lawyers Sky Kim and Mhairi Caminiti.
