Two well-known managers of private-equity funds are pushing further into debt investments partly in a bid to take advantage of the opportunities created by recent upheaval in the global capital markets, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Related Fund Management, an arm of Stephen Ross’s Related Cos., will soon start raising a closed-end debt fund that could be as large as $2 billion. New York-based Related started making debt investments focusing on junior debt two years ago mostly in partnership with Highbridge Principal Strategies, a unit of J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Meanwhile, Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors, of Boca Raton, Fla., is looking to raise more than $500 million for a new debt fund. Like Related, Kayne Anderson has been focusing its debt investments on junior, or so-called mezzanine, debt that is more risky but pays a higher interest rate than senior debt.
