Blue Owl Capital has raised $2.9bn (£2.2bn) for its ninth asset-based special opportunities fund at final close.

The $307bn alternative asset manager stated that the Blue Owl Asset Special Opportunities Fund IX (ASOF IX) has exceeded its original target of $2.5bn.

“Asset-based finance represents an important area of private credit, offering a diversifier to corporate direct lending that provides downside protection and opportunity for upside convexity,” said Ivan Zinn, head of alternative credit at Blue Owl. “We believe that ASOF IX will support our continued focus on capturing attractive risk-adjusted returns across market environments, while maintaining a disciplined approach to underwriting and risk management.”

According to Blue Owl, ASOF IX has the ability to allocate throughout changing market conditions, with the fund seeing increased opportunity during the current market dislocation.

“We are seeing an increasingly attractive opportunity set, driven by market dislocation, complexity, and the demand for flexible capital,” Craig Packer, co-president and head of credit at Blue Owl. “With scale, sourcing, and underwriting at the core of the strategy, we remain focused on disciplined deployment, generating durable income, and delivering consistent performance across cycles.”

Blue Owl’s raise comes as opportunistic credit funds have become increasingly popular amongst private asset managers.

This week, Ares has also raised over $9.8bn for its opportunistic credit strategy following the final close of its third fund in the space.

In addition, for European special situations opportunities, investment possibilities have doubled since the Covid pandemic, according to Benefit Street Partners, with 2026 likely to see an equal or greater wave of stressed assets.

Read more: Blue Owl gates retail private credit fund amid redemption pressure