Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) has made a minority investment in Velocity Capital Advisers through a wholly owned subsidiary.
In addition, the firm said it had entered into a long-term investment management agreement on behalf of one or more subsidiaries of RGA. Velocity has AUM of nearly $1.5bn.
Leslie Barbi, executive vice president and chief investment officer, RGA, said: “We are excited about our strategic relationship with Velocity, which benefits both organisations, and provides RGA with another avenue to access attractive private assets. This is RGA’s first transaction of this type, and we plan to continue evaluating investments in alternative asset managers in the coming years as part of our strategic goal to further expand our investment platform.”
Ed Levy, cofounder and managing partner of Velocity, said the company was ‘grateful’ and ‘humbled’ by the support it had received from borrowers and investors.
He added: “RGA is the ideal partner for our firm as we enter our next phase of growth. They share our strategic vision for the business which is premised on providing tailored capital solutions to meet the unique liquidity needs of the alternative asset secondary market. With RGA’s support, and that of our other investors, we believe that we can continue to strengthen our market position by delivering a differentiated value proposition to all of the constituents that we serve.”
RBC Capital Markets served as exclusive financial advisor to RGA on the transaction. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
