Saba Capital Management Enters Public and Private BDC and Interval Fund Market, Announces New Strategy to Address Retail Investor Liquidity Needs
Firm Launches Initiative to Provide Liquidity Across Public and Private Credit Retail Products
Deploys Capital Into New NAV Dislocation Strategy
Saba Capital Management, L.P. (together with certain of its affiliates, "Saba" or "we"), one of the world's leading closed-end fund activists and investors, today announced a significant expansion of its investment activities into both public and private BDCs and interval funds – products that share the structural DNA of closed-end funds but have historically offered retail investors little to no secondary market liquidity in their private forms.
A Natural Extension of Saba's Core Expertise
Saba has built its reputation over more than a decade navigating closed-end fund discounts in public markets. The firm now believes the same dynamics – NAV marks that diverge materially from the prices at which investors can actually exit – are present at scale across both public and private BDCs and interval funds, representing hundreds of billions of dollars of retail capital.
Over the past several months, Saba has made the following investments in this emerging opportunity set:
- $40 million in FS KKR Capital Corp. (NYSE:FSK), a publicly traded BDC, representing Saba's first meaningful foray into the BDC market.
- $75 million in Bluerock Private Real Estate Fund (NYSE:BPRE), formerly an interval fund that converted to a publicly traded closed-end fund. BPRE opened at an approximately 40% discount to NAV upon conversion, and Saba was able to acquire its position at discounts ranging from 30-40% – an illustration of the gap between marks and market reality.
- Equity stakes in Apollo Global Management, Ares Management Corporation and Blackstone Inc., the three leading managers in the private credit and alternative asset management space, reflecting Saba's conviction that the best franchises in this industry will benefit from the secular growth of private credit – even as near-term dislocations create opportunity.
Tender Activity: Modest Results, Large Impact
Saba recently completed tender offers for shares of Starwood Real Estate Income Trust ("SREIT") and Blue Owl Capital Corporation II ("OBDC II"), acquiring approximately $10 million in aggregate face value across 190 separate trades, substantially all from SREIT. The breadth of participation across those trades underscores the genuine and widespread demand for liquidity among retail investors in these products. While the aggregate volume was below initial expectations, Saba views the results as a meaningful validation of its thesis.
Following Saba's public activity in SREIT, Starwood Capital Group and its Chairman and CEO, Barry Sternlicht, announced a commitment to inject additional equity capital into the fund to accelerate investor redemptions. Saba commends Mr. Sternlicht for this decisive action on behalf of SREIT investors. We believe our entry into this market was a catalyst for that outcome, and that all SREIT investors have benefited as a result.
With respect to OBDC II, at only $332 million in remaining fund size, the pool of illiquid capital available to tender was naturally limited. As markets evolve and redemption pressures build, particularly given the credit risk we see accumulating into 2027 and 2028, we believe the opportunity set for providing liquidity at scale will grow considerably.
Generating Momentum: RIA Interest and Expanding Pipeline
Saba's public entry into this space has generated substantial interest from the registered investment adviser community. The firm has received dozens of inbound calls from RIAs whose clients hold positions in private BDCs and interval funds and are seeking liquidity options. Saba is considering providing bids on a number of additional products, including the Cliffwater interval fund and Blue Owl's OCIC – one of the largest private BDCs in the market.
Saba's goal is straightforward: retail investors in these products deserve access to liquidity, just as investors in public BDCs have long enjoyed. We intend to be a consistent, credible bid in this market.
Expanding Into a New Strategy: NAV Dislocation Across Public and Private Credit
Saba's activities in this space have generated meaningful interest from investors, and the firm is actively deploying capital into a new strategy focused on NAV dislocations across the full spectrum of listed and unlisted vehicles: public BDCs, closed-end funds, investment trusts, REITs, private BDCs and interval funds.
The strategy targets entry points at discounts of 30-40% or greater to NAV, a threshold Saba has already achieved across its investments to date, including its $75 million position in BPRE acquired at a 30-40% discount and its tender activities in SREIT. These early results demonstrate that the opportunity is not theoretical – it is already being captured.
Saba believes the question is not whether this space will experience significant stress, but when. Hundreds of billions of dollars of private credit are currently held by retail investors in products that offer limited or no secondary liquidity. Saba intends to be a consistent source of that liquidity – and to have the capital deployed and ready when the need intensifies.
About Saba Capital Management
Saba Capital Management, L.P. is a global alternative asset management firm that seeks to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns for a diverse group of clients. Founded in 2009 by Boaz Weinstein, Saba is a pioneer of credit relative value strategies and capital structure arbitrage. Saba has offices in New York City and London. Learn more at www.sabacapital.com.
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Longacre Square Partners
Kate Sylvester
ksylvester@longacresquare.com