AEA Investors inks JV with Amateras

AEA Investors has formed a joint venture with Amateras Capital, a women-led investment platform focused on junior capital solutions across private credit and equity. Alexandra Jung, co-founder of Amateras, will lead the joint venture. AEA will own a minority stake in the joint venture.

PRESS RELEASE

AEA Investors (“AEA”), a leading alternative investment manager specializing in middle market private equity and debt investments, and Amateras Capital (“Amateras”), a women-led investment platform focused on junior capital solutions across private credit and equity, today announced a joint venture to leverage the power of female investment and operating talent and expertise to drive value creation and shift the gender paradigm in investing.

The AEA-Amateras joint venture will be led by Amateras’ Co-Founder Alexandra (Alex) Jung and will be majority owned and led by women who have been in the investment business for over 75 years cumulatively. AEA will own a minority interest in the joint venture. Alex will be joined by Amateras Capital Partner and Co-Founder Debbie Ackerman and Partner Andrea Hedrick, both long-standing leaders in the private equity and credit investing space.

As Partners in the joint venture, they will lead investment activity and continue supporting Amateras’ Advisory Network and leadership initiative under Project Sunflower, aligned with its mission of achieving investment excellence through driving greater diversity in the industry. In addition, Alex Jung has been appointed Head of AEA Private Debt and a member of the firm’s Management Committee succeeding Scott Zoellner, a founding partner of AEA Private Debt. Scott will be assuming a new role as Head of Capital Markets for AEA’s private equity groups, where he will focus on expanding the firm’s lender relationships across strategies. Established in 2005, AEA Private Debt Group has a deep bench of experienced credit investment professionals and has invested $7.2 billion since inception.

This mutually beneficial partnership enhances both firms’ positioning as partners of choice in the private equity and credit community. With a successful investing history that spans multiple decades, and a deep foundation of partnership across the middle market, AEA’s leading platform is an ideal network to extend the impact of Amateras’ solutions-based partnership investing approach, creating outperformance through bringing diverse thought to investing in private markets. AEA and its portfolio companies will have access to Amateras’ investing expertise, distinct female advisory network and under its Project Sunflower initiative, leadership development programming to further advance the next generation of investors and operating executives within their expansive network.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Amateras and to welcome Alex, Debbie and Andrea to AEA,” said Brian Hoesterey, Chief Executive Officer of AEA. “This is an important collaboration, and we are confident that partnering with Amateras to further leverage the power of female investment and operating talent will be a key differentiator for our team, the portfolio companies we work with and those that are considering partnering with us moving forward. Alex brings significant investment acumen in alternative credit and private equity, business building experience and unmatched leadership skills, and I look forward to seeing all that she accomplishes as she builds on the strong foundation the team has laid for our Private Debt franchise as private debt markets continue to experience tremendous growth.”

“AEA has a 54-year track record and industry leading investment and operating talent, and I am excited to be joining a global platform of AEA’s caliber,” said Ms. Jung. “We share a collaborative mindset and a partnership-driven approach to investing, and I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to grow the Private Debt business and lead the AEA-Amateras partnership alongside my partners. Building on the long-standing success of the AEA platform, we see a unique opportunity to multiply the impact of Amateras and our innovative network of strategic investors that brings the female point of view to private equity and credit deals and affect change throughout the industry.”

Financial terms of this transaction were not disclosed.

About Alexandra Jung
Alexandra (Alex) was most recently a Partner & Head of Europe at Oak Hill Advisors, a U.S.-based $50 billion investment firm specializing in alternative credit and private equity, prior to starting her own initiative, Amateras Capital, a firm focused on women-led investing. While at Oak Hill, Ms. Jung served on global investment committees, valuation committees and management boards. Prior to joining Oak Hill Advisors, she managed investments in credit, distressed and equity as part of Goldman, Sachs & Co.’s Special Situations Group and at Greywolf Capital. Alex began her career at Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin. Ms. Jung also serves on the Board of Trustees of Bucknell University and on the Board of Directors of publicly traded NVR, Inc. She is a founding Board member of the Women’s Business Collaborative, a new initiative established to accelerate the advancement of women in the c-suite, board and corporate leadership through promoting collaboration among the largest national women leadership organizations.