Insurers controlled by Mark Walter have been racing to divest outsized holdings of private credit loans linked to other parts of his investment portfolio, according to people familiar with their plans.
The insurers could soon announce that they have been able to cut their holdings of affiliated assets, the people said.
Delaware Life and Clear Spring, which Walter controls through TWG Global, reclassified more than $20bn in holdings amid an inquiry by US prosecutors examining whether private credit investments they held were tied to other parts of Walter’s empire. TWG previously told the FT it “is aware of and co-operating with the investigation”.
The insurers have been racing to sell or restructure these assets ahead of potential cuts to their credit ratings if they are unable to bring down the percentage of their portfolio invested in affiliates.
On Wednesday, Walter’s holding company announced it planned to sell its investment in the National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Lakers to Josh Kushner and former Disney chief Bob Iger for $12.5bn, exiting what was one of the most expensive sports bets in history in less than a year’s time.
The insurers did not have substantial investments in the Lakers, according to a person familiar with TWG’s plans, but the sale was expected to help the firm raise cash to inject into the insurers.
TWG was planning additional sales that could help it pay down the insurers’ affiliate loans, the person added. Asked whether the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, in which Walter is also a co-owner, could also be up for sale, the person said: “That’s up to Mark.”
Walter oversees a sprawling portfolio of sports, financial services and AI bets worth tens of billions of dollars. He is a founder of Guggenheim Partners, the securities firm and asset management giant with over $300bn in assets, and owns stakes in the Dodgers and Chelsea FC, in addition to his insurance holdings.
Bloomberg reported earlier that Walter has had talks with firms including Steven Cohen’s Point72 to raise capital. The hedge fund passed on any transaction, according to a person familiar with the matter. “It was a quick and easy decision,” the person said.
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