NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 21, 2020--S&P Global Ratings said today that Ares Management Corp.'s (BBB+/Stable/--) acquisition of SSG Capital Holdings Ltd. (SSG), an alternative credit investment manager focused in special situations and secured lending in Asia, could support further growth. While the addition of SSG to Ares's platform would not initially diversify the platform meaningfully and provide significant earnings growth, we believe that this transaction could strengthen Ares's presence in the Asian market as well as support further growth given the company's existing capabilities in credit and potential support for future fundraising. The acquisition has no immediate ratings impact. Terms of the acquisition are not disclosed; however, we consider SSG as small (approximately $6 billion in assets under
