United States Private Equity & Professional Sports Investment Firm Arctos Raised $6.2 Billion for First Alternative Asset Managers Growth Fund (Keystone Partners Fund I) to Invest in Leading Private Fund Sponsors & Alternative Asset Managers in North America & Europe, Arctos Partners Acquired by United States $758 Billion Private Equity Firm KKR in 2026 February for $1.95 Billion, Arctos Founded in 2019 by Ian Charles & David O’Connor (ex-President of Madison Square Garden Company Which Owns Assets Including NBA Basketball Team New York Knicks & Venue Madison Square Garden)
11th July 2026 | Hong Kong
United States private equity & professional sports investment firm Arctos has raised $6.2 billion for first alternative asset managers growth fund (Keystone Partners Fund I) to invest in leading private fund sponsors & alternative asset managers in North America & Europe. In 2026 February, KKR announced to buy Arctos Partners for $1.95 billion ($1.4 billion upfront, $550 million contingents, with KKR to setup a new unit KKR Solutions. Arctos was founded in 2019 by Ian Charles & David O’Connor (ex-President of Madison Square Garden Company which owns assets including NBA basketball team New York Knicks & venue Madison Square Garden). In 2025 September, Arctos launched Arctos Capital Markets to provide HNW investors with sports ownership opportunities. Announcement (7/7/26): “Arctos, a business of KKR, today announced the final close of Arctos Keystone Partners Fund I (“Keystone Fund I” or the “Fund”), its inaugural fund dedicated to providing bespoke growth capital and financing to leading alternative asset managers. Keystone Fund I, and its affiliated vehicles, closed with $6.2 billion in capital commitments from a diverse group of global investors, including some of the world’s leading pension funds, retirement systems, endowments, insurance companies, family offices and global wealth platforms. The Fund exceeded its original $4 billion target size and, at the time of the close, represents the largest first-time fund in the broader GP Solutions space. The Keystone private equity strategy is led by Joe Corcoran, John Stott, Charlie Tingue, and Michael Belsley. Their collective experience across private markets, structured solutions, secondaries, GP stakes and complex sponsor transactions have helped establish Keystone as a trusted, strategic partner to leading sponsors. To date, more than 30% of the Fund’s capital has been deployed across 11 sponsors, reflecting the breadth of opportunity across the alternative asset management landscape. This includes Keystone’s backing of Hayfin’s management buyout from British Columbia Investment Management Corporation. Arctos Keystone Partners Fund I is the first final closing of an Arctos fund since KKR closed its acquisition of Arctos in May. The Keystone strategy will target relationships with leading private fund sponsors in North America and Europe while building a diversified portfolio of investments across the alternative asset management landscape. Evercore Private Funds Group acted as the exclusive global placement agent for the Keystone Fund I raise and Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel to Arctos.”
“ United States Private Equity & Professional Sports Investment Firm Arctos Raised $6.2 Billion for First Alternative Asset Managers Growth Fund (Keystone Partners Fund I) to Invest in Leading Private Fund Sponsors & Alternative Asset Managers in North America & Europe, Arctos Partners Acquired by United States $758 Billion Private Equity Firm KKR in 2026 February for $1.95 Billion, Arctos Founded in 2019 by Ian Charles & David O’Connor (ex-President of Madison Square Garden Company Which Owns Assets Including NBA Basketball Team New York Knicks & Venue Madison Square Garden) “
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Ian Charles, Managing Partner and CEO of Arctos, Partner and Head of KKR Solutions at KKR: “Building and leading a private markets firm is hard. Today is more challenging than ever because the industry is undergoing a generational shift that requires strategic leadership and capital. As builders and entrepreneurs, our leadership team understands this challenge better than anyone. We built Keystone to serve these leaders and their firms, not simply as a capital provider, but as a creative, flexible thought partner willing to embrace complexity and help solve hard problems. The strong investor support for the Keystone fund reflects the market’s conviction in that opportunity, the strength of the team we have assembled, and the differentiated platform we have built. We are grateful to our investors and sponsor partners for their trust from the very beginning.”
Arctos – Arctos seeks to partner with exceptional leaders in sports and private markets to help them grow and unlock their vision. Founded in 2019 and acquired by KKR (NYSE: KKR) in 2026, Arctos is a part of KKR Solutions, a new global investing business at KKR, and serves as a catalyst for innovation, growth and business transformation across complex, illiquid and underserved markets. Arctos is a team of business-builders, investors, operators and data scientists, which provides growth capital and liquidity solutions, differentiated thought partnership and purpose-built value creation capabilities. Its strategies include Arctos Sports, which partners with premium sports owners and franchises, and Arctos Keystone, which provides strategic capital solutions to leading alternative asset managers, real estate operators and investment managers, their funds and portfolio companies. Underpinning this approach is Arctos Insights, a proprietary quantitative research and data science platform, which supports Arctos’ investment process, market perspectives and partnership model.
KKR – KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries.
KKR to Acquire Arctos, Establishing a New Platform for Sports, GP Solutions and Secondaries in a Strategic Transaction Initially Valued at $1.4 Billion
2026 February – KKR & Co. Inc., a leading global investment firm, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Arctos Partners (“Arctos”), a premier institutional investor in professional sports franchise stakes and a leader in asset management solutions for sponsors. The transaction is valued at $1.4 billion in initial consideration, including equity subject to vesting through 2033, plus up to an additional $550 million in future equity tied to both KKR share price and business-specific performance targets and vesting through 2031.
Founded by Ian Charles and Doc O’Connor in 2019 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Arctos is the largest institutional investor in professional sports franchises and a recognized innovator in providing strategic capital to asset management firms through structured solutions. The firm manages approximately $15 billion in Assets Under Management (“AUM”) and provides bespoke growth and liquidity solutions to sports franchises (“Arctos Sports”) and alternative asset managers (“Arctos Keystone” or “GP Solutions”).
Charles and O’Connor, Managing Partners of Arctos, said, “KKR is a preeminent global investment firm and ideally positioned to help us achieve the vision we have for Arctos. We see tremendous opportunity to better serve the sports industry and the sponsor community, but the key to that unlock is a partnership that will provide access to strategic, financial and operational resources to accelerate our existing businesses. At the same time, we will be able to leverage KKR’s broad range of products and capabilities to extend and enhance our relationships with leagues, teams, GPs and sponsors. Through this transaction, we will become an even stronger partner to the markets and investors that we serve, which has been our goal from the very beginning.”
Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall, Co-Chief Executive Officers of KKR, said, “Arctos has created a distinctive and scaled platform across sports investing and capital solutions for asset managers, and the team has extensive experience in secondaries—three areas where we see significant long-term opportunity. The team has complementary strengths, strong cultural alignment, and an entrepreneurial approach that fits well with KKR. We look forward to working together to build a platform that expands opportunities across the entire KKR ecosystem.”
Strategic Rationale
The acquisition advances KKR’s strategy to scale its platform by building and acquiring complementary businesses in large addressable markets where KKR has the ability to be a leader. Bringing Arctos into KKR will provide access to capital and capabilities that will fuel the growth of Arctos’ existing businesses while also deepening KKR’s sourcing and origination capabilities and expanding its long-duration capital base.
- Exceptional Business and Management Team. Managing Partners Ian Charles and Doc O’Connor, supported by a 76-person team, bring decades of expertise in sports, GP solutions and secondaries. Charles is a pioneer and innovator in the secondaries space, having cofounded the first secondaries market advisory firm, Cogent Partners, and later spending over a decade at Landmark Partners, where he was a Partner and helped design and execute the firm’s private equity strategy. O’Connor brings over 40 years of experience and unparalleled relationships in the sports ecosystem, having previously served as CEO of Madison Square Garden Company, and prior to that as Managing Partner of CAA, where he built what became the world’s leading entertainment and diversified sports agency business.
- Leadership in Sports Investing. Arctos provides KKR with a differentiated entry point into the sports franchise stakes sector, a category characterized by historical and expected long-term value appreciation and growing global demand. Arctos is the largest institutional investor in professional sports franchise stakes and the only firm approved for multiteam ownership across all five major U.S. leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS). With access to the breadth of KKR’s asset management business and product suite, Arctos will have more ways to strategically partner with teams and owners.
- Scaled and Growing GP Solutions Platform. As a top five player in GP solutions, Arctos’ Keystone platform offers flexible, non-dilutive capital solutions for GPs across private markets. This segment of the broader manager and fund finance market has grown rapidly in recent years and continues to expand. As part of KKR, Arctos will be able to provide GPs access to a wider range of capital solutions, with greater flexibility on structure, permanence and cost of capital.
- New Platform for Secondaries and Solutions. The private equity secondaries market saw record activity in 2025, with LP-led and GP-led volumes of approximately $226 billion, up 41% from 2024 and a compound annual growth rate of roughly 20% since 2013. Arctos’ experience and leadership provide a strong foundation and clear path for KKR to build and scale a leading secondaries and solutions business.
- Enhanced Sourcing and Origination. Arctos meaningfully expands the reach of KKR’s proprietary origination and sourcing engine with complementary synergies across private equity, credit, infrastructure, real estate, insurance and capital markets. Utilizing these sources of capital, Arctos will also be positioned to expand its existing relationships across leagues, teams, GPs and sponsors.
- Enhanced Wealth and Institutional Distribution. Sports and GP solutions asset classes resonate strongly with high-net-worth and mass-affluent investors. Arctos will similarly be able to grow its client base by virtue of having access to KKR’s global network, distribution and product development capabilities.
- Expected to increase KKR’s earnings and long-duration capital base. Taking into account the transaction, perpetual and long-dated capital would represent 53% of KKR’s $759 billion of AUM.
Upon closing, Arctos’ Managing Partners Charles and O’Connor will join KKR as Partners, and Arctos’ full team and operations will become part of KKR. KKR will form a new investing business, KKR Solutions, which will be led by Charles. KKR Solutions will include Arctos’ Sports and Keystone businesses and serve as the home of a scaled multi-asset class secondaries business KKR will build over time.
“Ian Charles is one of the most experienced leaders in the secondaries space.” Bae and Nuttall added. “We have known Ian for more than a decade and have worked closely with him, including on KKR’s first structured secondaries transaction—a milestone that ultimately laid the foundation for our Health Care and Technology Growth platforms, which today manage over $17 billion of capital. With the team’s track record and history of innovation, we know Arctos is the right partner to help us build a leading franchise across sports, GP solutions and secondaries.”
Terms of the Transaction & Additional Details
- KKR has agreed to acquire 100% of Arctos in a strategic transaction valued at $1.4 billion in initial consideration, including equity subject to vesting through 2033, plus up to an additional $550 million in future equity tied to both KKR share price and business-specific performance targets and vesting through 2031.
- Initial consideration of $1.4 billion consists of $300 million in cash, $900 million of equity to existing Arctos shareholders (with Arctos management’s portion subject to vesting through 2030), and $200 million of additional equity to be allocated by 2028 and subject to vesting through 2033.
- The transaction is expected to be accretive per share across key financial metrics immediately post-closing.
- The transaction is subject to regulatory and specified sports league approvals, as well as customary closing conditions.
- KKR was advised by Simpson Thacher, as legal counsel, and Kirkland & Ellis as sports counsel. Arctos was advised by Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel. BofA Securities acted as exclusive financial advisor for Arctos.
United States $723 Billion Private Equity Firm KKR to Buy United States Private Equity & Professional Sports Investment Firm Arctos Partners at $1 Billion Valuation, Founded in 2019 by Ian Charles & David O’Connor (ex-President of Madison Square Garden Company Which Owns Assets Including NBA Basketball Team New York Knicks & Venue Madison Square Garden)
7th January – United States private equity firm KKR ($723 billion AUM) is reported be buying United States private equity & professional sports investment firm Arctos Partners at $1 billion valuation. Arctos Partners was founded in 2019 by Ian Charles & David O’Connor (ex-President of Madison Square Garden Company which owns assets including NBA basketball team New York Knicks & venue Madison Square Garden). In 2025 September, Arctos launched Arctos Capital Markets to provide HNW investors with sports ownership opportunities. Announcement (30/9/25): Arctos, a private investment firm that provides bespoke growth and liquidity solutions to sports franchises (Arctos Sports) and alternative asset managers (Arctos Keystone), today announced the launch of Arctos Capital Markets (“ACM”), a new business line dedicated to identifying and connecting qualified high net worth investors directly with professional sports ownership opportunities. Leveraging the firm’s proprietary network of potential investors, data science platform, industry relationships, and investment pipeline, Arctos believes it is uniquely positioned to unlock capital for its partners and the broader sports ecosystem. As the only private investment firm approved to own equity across all five major North American professional leagues, Arctos is the largest institutional owner of North American sports equity globally, with over 25 portfolio franchises. Since 2024, Arctos has invested significant resources to build a dedicated ACM team and platform, generating what Arctos believes are strong early results. Notably, ACM facilitated the sale of a controlling interest in the Tampa Bay Lightning to a new ownership group. The group has also worked with syndicate investors for primary and secondary franchise capital raises and control ownership groups.” Arctos Partners – Arctos is a private investment firm designed to catalyze growth and unlock value in complex, illiquid, and underserved markets. Founded in 2019, the firm’s investment businesses span private equity and real assets (Arctos Keystone) and premier sports franchises (Arctos Sports), delivering bespoke capital solutions, differentiated insights, and purpose-built operating capabilities to industry leaders in both markets. The firm’s innovative approach is anchored by its unique quantitative research and data science platform, Arctos Insights. Arctos has a team of more than 70 investment and operational professionals with expertise across industries, geographies, and economic cycles. The firm is headquartered in Dallas, with office locations in New York, Boston, and London.
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