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Owl Rock Capital Partners
Owl Rock Capital Partners was founded in 2016 by three former partners from the credit arm of GSO Capital Partners, itself a unit of Blackstone.
Owl Rock Capital Partners
Owl Rock Capital Partners was founded in 2016 by three former partners from the credit arm of GSO Capital Partners, itself a unit of Blackstone. The founders — Douglas Ostrover, Marc Lipschultz, and Craig Packer — brought decades of direct lending experience and immediate sponsor relationships to the new platform. The firm launched as a direct lender to middle-market companies backed by private equity sponsors, positioning itself at the intersection of relationship banking and institutional credit. Strategy centers on originating and underwriting senior secured loans, unitranche debt, and opportunistic credit investments. The firm targets companies with $10M to $100M+ EBITDA, typically supporting leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and growth financings. Portfolio deployments disclosed in SEC filings include positions in companies backed by sponsors such as Hellman & Friedman, Silver Lake, and Vista Equity Partners. The geographic focus is domestic US, with underwriting hubs in New York and satellite offices across Palo Alto, Boston, and Greenwich. Owl Rock Capital Partners went public in 2019 via a business-development company (BDC) structure, Owl Rock Capital Corporation (ORCC), which listed on the NYSE. The BDC held over $12B in total assets at its peak (per SEC filings, 2021). In 2021, the firm merged its BDC platform with Dyal Capital Partners to form Blue Owl Capital, a listed asset manager managing over $100B (per Blue Owl public filings, 2022). Owl Rock Capital Partners now operates as the direct-lending arm within Blue Owl. The structural differentiator is its alignment with a listed asset manager — Blue Owl — while operating as an autonomous origination team. The founders retain equity and day-to-day control of deployment decisions, and the platform raises permanent capital through the BDC structure, avoiding the typical fundraising cycle. Succession governance is embedded in the multi-founder model, with co-Presidents and a Chief Investment Officer sharing authority.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2016
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Additional offices
Palo Alto · Arlington · Boston · Greenwich · Menlo Park
Principals
Douglas Ostrover
Co-Founder and CEO
Marc Lipschultz
Co-Founder
Craig Packer
Co-Founder
Alan Kirshenbaum
Co-President and Chief Investment Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Owl Rock Capital Partners?
Douglas Ostrover serves as CEO, Alan Kirshenbaum is Co-President and Chief Investment Officer, and Marc Lipschultz and Craig Packer remain as Co-Founders and senior voices on credit strategy. Investment committees are formed around sponsor relationships and sector expertise, with final underwriting authority resting with these senior partners.
How does Owl Rock Capital Partners source proprietary deal flow?
The firm originates deals through its network of private equity sponsor relationships, built over decades by the founding team. Owl Rock typically acts as the lead or sole arranger on senior secured loans and unitranche debt for middle-market companies backed by sponsors. Many deals are negotiated off-market before being broadly syndicated.
Is Owl Rock Capital Partners structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
Owl Rock Capital Partners is not a family office. It operates as a direct lending asset manager and is now an autonomous unit within Blue Owl Capital (NYSE: OWL), a publicly traded asset management company. It does not raise capital from individuals but from institutional investors via the BDC structure.
What investment stages does Owl Rock Capital Partners typically target?
Owl Rock underwrites senior secured loans and unitranche debt for middle-market companies with EBITDA between $10M and $100M. It typically supports leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and growth financings sponsored by private equity firms, with hold sizes ranging from $25M to over $500M per deal.
How is Owl Rock Capital Partners related to Blue Owl Capital?
In 2021, Owl Rock Capital Partners merged its BDC platform, Owl Rock Capital Corporation, with Dyal Capital Partners to form Blue Owl Capital, a publicly traded asset manager (NYSE: OWL). Owl Rock Capital Partners now functions as Blue Owl's direct lending unit, retaining its brand and investment autonomy.
Does Owl Rock Capital Partners participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Owl Rock Capital Partners originates and holds direct loans on its balance sheet through its BDC, Owl Rock Capital Corporation, and through separately managed accounts for institutional clients. It does not act as a fund-of-funds or commit capital to outside managers. All deployment is direct origination.
Which sectors does Owl Rock Capital Partners explicitly avoid?
Owl Rock has publicly stated it avoids early-stage venture lending and project finance. Its focus is on established, cash-flow-generating middle-market companies across sectors including healthcare services, enterprise software, real estate, infrastructure, and fintech. It generally does not invest in companies with unproven business models.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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