6th Street Advisors

6th Street Advisors

6th Street formed in 2009 when CEO Alan Waxman and partners carved out the $11 billion special situations and credit platform from TPG, formalizing an independent partnership. The firm traces its operating DNA to TPG's distressed and opportunistic credit group, where the founding team executed large-scale restructurings and rescue financings during the global financial crisis. Waxman, who had joined TPG's predecessor entity in 1997, negotiated a separation that gave the new firm autonomy over its investment decisions while preserving decades of institutional infrastructure. The partnership structure — 90-plus professionals have equity ownership — anchors retention across cycles. The firm operates as a multi-strategy investor spanning private credit, direct equity, real estate, and structured finance. Typical credit transactions include unitranche facilities, asset-backed lending, and rescue financing, while the equity platform takes minority and control positions in growth-stage and mature companies. 6th Street's real estate group originates senior mortgages and mezzanine debt for commercial and multifamily properties, competing directly with banks and alternative lenders. Confirmed portfolio holdings have included Airbnb, Spotify, and the Golden State Warriors (per the firm, 2021). The firm's geographic footprint covers North America, Europe, and select Asia-Pacific markets, with deal teams in New York, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong, and Mumbai. A dedicated co-investment program allows limited partners to participate alongside 6th Street's balance sheet on specific opportunities, replicating the GP-LP alignment model used by peers like Apollo and KKR. 6th Street's platform manages assets across several pooled vehicles and separately managed accounts, though the firm does not publicly disclose total AUM on a rolling basis. The partnership has grown to approximately 600 professionals (per the firm, 2024). In 2023, 6th Street expanded its sports franchise financing practice, leading a $175 million preferred equity investment in the San Antonio Spurs (per Bloomberg, 2023). The firm also launched a dedicated life-sciences royalty business, providing non-dilutive capital to commercial-stage biotech companies against drug revenue streams. Adjacent to the main investment engine, the 6th Street Foundation directs philanthropic grants focused on economic mobility and health equity, while the partnership's permanent capital base — drawn from pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and insurance companies — reduces redemption risk relative to peers with shorter-duration capital. 6th Street's structural differentiator is its balance-sheet-first posture. Unlike most private capital firms that raise blind-pool funds and call capital as needed, 6th Street maintains substantial partner capital invested alongside fund commitments, enabling same-day execution on complex transactions that require certainty of close. The firm's heritage in distressed credit also means its sourcing network includes bankruptcy attorneys, turnaround advisors, and corporate restructuring teams that do not typically interact with traditional growth-equity or buyout shops. Waxman remains the sole CEO — no co-chief structure — with investment committee authority concentrated among a small group of founding-era partners who have worked together since the TPG credit days.