Blue Owl Capital is expanding its nest, inking a deal to acquire funds managed by Cowen Healthcare Investments, an acquisition that will add about $1 billion in assets across several funds with a specific focus on mid- to late-stage equity investments in biopharmas and healthcare companies.
Blue Owl is acquiring the life sciences investment manager from parent company Cowen Investment Management in a deal set to close by the end of the year. The CHI team will then become full-time Blue Owl employees, and CHI's funds will be renamed Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
In the life sciences, Blue Owl is focused on credit, royalty and growth equity investments in biopharma, medtech and healthcare companies and products. For example, the investor recently snapped up royalty interest in Novartis' Pluvicto, an approved radiopharmaceutical for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
While under Blue Owl’s wing, CHI will continue to invest mainly in mid-development-stage biotherapeutics. Over the last year, the capital market company has invested in biotechs such as MapLight Therapeutics, Star Therapeutics and TORL BioTherapeutics. A few years ago, in 2020, the group raised a $493 million fund and made investments in companies such as Akouos, AM-Pharma and Keros Therapeutics.