Ares Management Corp

The firm was established in 1997. The co-founders included Antony Ressler, Michael Arougheti, David Kaplan, John H. Kissick, and Bennett Rosenthal. It has several subsidiaries:

Ares Capital Corporation: established in 2004 and provides financing for middle market acquisitions, recapitalizations, and leveraged buyouts, mainly in the United States. It is a publicly traded closed-end, non-diversified specialty finance company that is regulated as a business development company (BDC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Ares Capital Management LLC: an SEC-registered investment adviser, is the investment adviser to Ares Capital Corporation.

Ares Management Limited: established in 2006 as an expansion of the Ares business platform into Europe, focused on Ares European capital markets operations. It is authorized under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom to provide certain investment advisory services.

In May 2007, a minority interest in the firm was acquired by an international institutional investor, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. It did not acquire any voting or governance rights via its investment.

In May 2014, Ares Management completed its initial public offering and is currently listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In April 2016, Ares Management closed its fifth global private equity fund, raising $7.85 billion. In May 2016, Ares Management announced a plan to buy asset management company American Capital; the US$3.4 billion deal closed in January 2017.

On January 30, 2020, Ares Management acquired a controlling stake in the Hong Kong –based alternative investment firm SSG Capital Management. The deal was formally completed on July 2, 2020, and SSG Capital Management now operates under the name Ares SSG.

On July 1, 2021, Ares Management announced the completion of its acquisition of Black Creek Group's U.S. real estate investment advisory and distribution business.

In June 2024, Ares Management, in co-operation with Searchlight Capital, invested £500 million in a preferred equity transaction in RSK Group, a UK-based environmental, engineering and technical services group.

In October 2024, Ares Management acquired the international business of GLP Capital Partners (GCP), excluding its Greater China business, for approximately $3.7 billion in cash and $1.9 billion in Ares Class A common stock.

In December 2024, Ares acquired 10% of the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. It was one of the first deals allowing outside investors to buy into an NFL franchise after league owners voted to allow new investors in August.

In April 2026, Ares agreed to acquire Whitestone REIT —operator of outdoor shopping centers across Arizona and Texas—in a $1.7 billion all-cash transaction.