Metlife

The investment arm of insurance giant Metlife had agreed to acquire Raven Capital Management, a U.S. private credit manager with $2.1 bn in assets under management.

Raven would operate as a private credit division under Metlife Investment Management (MIM).

Raven Capital, which was founded in 2008 by former Merrill Lynch executive Josh Green, specializes in lower middle market asset-based financing as well as outright purchase of cash-yielding investments, such as music royalties, real estate, and even films.

Most of Raven Capital’s loans are extended to companies with investment-grade credit ratings, rather than junk-rated corporate issuers owned by private equity firms, which other non-bank lenders focus on.

Private credit investment capabilities was the one area where we needed more higher-yielding capabilities to meet the needs of our clients, and Raven is a good fit because their asset-based lending model fits really nicely.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of this year.

MIM invests the capital generated by Metlife and other institutional investors, including endowments, foundations, pension funds, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds.

The company has $571 billion in assets under management spread across mortgage loans, government and corporate bonds, private equity, infrastructure and structured credit.

MetLife Investment Management, the institutional asset management business of MetLife, is a global public fixed income, private capital and real estate investment manager providing tailored investment solutions to institutional investors worldwide.

MetLife Investment Management provides public and private pension plans, insurance companies, endowments, funds and other institutional clients with a range of bespoke investment and financing solutions that seek to meet a range of long-term investment objectives and risk-adjusted returns over time.

MetLife Investment Management has over 150 years of investment experience and, as of September 30, 2022, had $571.2 billion in total assets under management.

by Nataly Kramer