Ostrover, Lipschultz, Blue Owl and private-credit; Yes, also JPM

The executives Ostrover and Lipschultz, joined forces to launch fund manager Blue Owl, turning it into a powerhouse in the booming business of lending to private companies without the use of banks. 

They pounced on trends early, zeroing in on lending to software companies, plowing money into artificial intelligence and selling their funds to wealthy individuals.

Ostrover and Lipschultz became instant billionaires, buying a hockey team, a piece of a football team and luxury real estate. 

Now, the foundations of their empire are cracking—raising questions about the once-sizzling industry’s future and transfixing Wall Street in a mix of schadenfreude and anxiety.

Wall Street Journal 1 March 2026

https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/blue-owl-private-credit-downfall-b657a53a

JPMorgan took the lead last year in financing the $55 billion takeover of Electronic Arts Inc., a record-setting leveraged buyout. 

Wall Street saw it as a sign that a lucrative period of bankrolling super-sized private equity deals might come roaring back.

Five months on, the mood is less jubilant.

Private equity firms — which are already sitting on $3.8 trillion of unsold assets — have been constrained by pressure to return cash to investors. 

As a result, even as borrowing has surged elsewhere, the private equity firms haven’t been a lucrative avenue of growth: 

There was only about $124 billion in bank-led loans supporting LBOs in the US last year, down from $132 billion in 2024 and 

half what it was when business boomed in 2021.

Bloomberg 2 March 2026

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-02/jpmorgan-tests-art-of-the-possible-in-leveraged-buyouts