Ex-Carlyle Direct Lending Head Debuts Firm With New PE Playbook

After years of working for the likes of private equity firms KKR & Co. and Carlyle Group Inc., Aren LeeKong is betting on a different investing model.

The former Carlyle direct lending chief is structuring his new venture, Nine Dean, as a holding company that has no deadline to exit bets. The Ford Foundation stepped up as its anchor investor.

LeeKong, 49, didn’t want to launch a money manager that collects fees amid relentless pressure to grow assets. He also wanted to break away from the model of traditional private equity firms, which exit companies after a few years. ...