MutualFundWire.com: Jenny Bets On a $5.71B-AUM Alts AM
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Thursday, June 5, 2025

Jenny Bets On a $5.71B-AUM Alts AM


Jenny Johnson and her team are preparing to snap up another alts shop, this one a nine-year-old private credit specialist in the UK with more than €5 billion ($5.71 billion) in AUM. Perhaps the acquirers will bring their target's wares to investors on this side of the pond, too.

Yesterday, Johnson, CEO of Franklin Resources, Inc. (dba Franklin Templeton [profile]), and Klaus Petersen, founding partner of Apera Asset Management, confirmed that San Mateo, California-based Franklin has agreed to buy a majority stake in London-based Apera. The Franklin team estimates that, on a pro forma basis, the deal would boost the publicly traded fund firm's worldwide total alternative AUM to about $260 billion*, including $87 bilion* in alternative credit. (Franklin overall has $1.54 trillion in AUM.*)

The deal is expected to close next quarter (i.e. in Q3 2025). Pricing and terms of the deal have not been publicly disclosed.

The news of Apera's engagement to Franklin comes less than two years after Kudu Investment Management, LLC, a serial backer of asset managers, bought a minority stake in Apera, when Apera had $2.9 billion in AUM and 38 employees.** Per Apera's most recent form ADV***, Kudu and Petersen himself remain significant, indirect minority shareholders in Apera.

Apera's recent form ADV*** also lists four Apera partners as directly holding less than five percent stakes each****. Those partners are:
  • Chris Roper;
  • Rob Shaw, chief financial officer and compliance officer;
  • David Wilmot; and
  • Petersen himself.

    • Though Apera's HQ is London, the firm also has offices in Luxembourg, Munich, and Paris. The Franklin team notes that Apera specializes in offering "senior secured private capital solutions," specifically to Western European companies that are backed by private equity. The Franklin team describes Apera as specifically complementary to two other current Franklin alternative credit boutiques: New York City-based Benefit Street Partners, and London-based Alcentra.*****

    David Manlowe, CEO of BSP, calls Apera "a strong strategic fit" for Franklin's alts platform.

    "Their focus on the European lower middle market adds a new dimension to our global private credit capabilities," Manlowe states. "It's a segment distinct from those served by BSP and Alcentra, and one where Apera's local expertise and disciplined underwriting approach provide access to attractive, risk-adjusted returns."

    Johnson lauds Petersen and his "outstanding team" as a strong addition to Franklin.

    "The acquisition of Apera reflects our continued commitment to building a world-class global alternatives platform," Johnson states.

    Petersen describes the deal as the beginning of "an exciting new chapter for Apera" and notes that his team and the Franklin folks "share a long-term vision centered on performance and growth."

    "With Franklin Templeton's global scale and clear commitment to alternatives, we are well-positioned to accelerate the growth of our strategy and expand our reach while continuing to deliver for our investors," Petersen states.

    *As of April 30, 2025.
    **Kudu's Apera deal was unveiled in July 2023.
    ***Filed on March 27, 2025.
    ****Three other Apera partners are not listed on its most recent form ADV. Those partners are Eva Halbritter, Louis-Matthieu Heck, and Salim Lemsetter.
    *****Franklin Templeton acquired Benefit Street Partners in 2019 and Alcentra in 2022.


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