(Bloomberg) -- Blue Owl Capital Inc. quietly increased its stake in infrastructure firm I Squared Capital to more than 20%, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

GP Strategic Capital, a unit of New York-based Blue Owl, acquired a portion of I Squared co-founder Adil Rahmathulla’s stake in the firm, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

Spokesmen for Blue Owl and I Squared declined to comment.

Rahmathulla, who was a managing partner, “will be transitioning from his role at I Squared Capital over the coming year to pursue other opportunities” the Miami-based firm said in May, noting that he’d remain on investment committees ahead of an eventual departure in June 2024. He started I Squared in 2012 with co-founders Sadek Wahba and Gautam Bhandari, and the firm now has more than $37 billion in assets under management. 

Through a separate vehicle, Blue Owl Financing Fund, the alternative-asset manager provided roughly $300 million in financing to enable dozens of I Squared employees to buy equity in the firm, said people with knowledge of the matter. Employees separately contributed $50 million to purchase equity, one of the people said.

I Squared broadened its employee ownership to include 27 new owners, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg News.

Blue Owl’s GP Strategic Capital arm, which previously did business as Dyal, first invested in I Squared in 2019 and added to its ownership in 2021, according to a people with knowledge of the matter.

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