Marina Lyubimova
The potential deal would expand Goldman's credit business, particularly in collateralized loan obligations (CLOs). No purchase price has been disclosed, and the talks may not result in a transaction.
Importantly, $37 billion is Palmer Square's assets under management (AUM), not its acquisition valuation.
$27 Billion in CLOs
Founded in 2009, Palmer Square specializes in corporate and structured credit.
| Metric | Palmer Square |
| Assets under management | ~$37B |
| CLO platform | ~$27B |
| CLOs issued | 100+ |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Investment professionals | 32 |
| Ownership | Management-owned |
| Main focus | CLOs and structured credit |
About 73% of Palmer Square's AUM is associated with its $27 billion CLO platform. The firm also manages CLO debt strategies, corporate credit products and CLO-focused ETFs.
A simplified CLO structure is:
Corporate loans → CLO → senior debt → junior debt → equity
Palmer Square manages the underlying credit portfolios and has issued more than 100 CLOs. It also operates proprietary CLO indexes, including the Palmer Square CLO Senior Debt Index.
What Goldman Gets
Goldman would acquire the asset manager and its management contracts, not the underlying $37 billion portfolio.
The acquisition would add:
- ~$37 billion in managed assets
- ~$27 billion CLO platform
- 100+ issued CLOs
- Institutional client relationships
- Credit investment infrastructure
- Recurring management fees
No acquisition valuation has been reported.
Goldman's Buying Streak
Palmer Square would extend Goldman's recent series of acquisitions of specialized investment managers.
| Company | AUM around transaction | Specialty |
| Industry Ventures | ~$7B | Venture capital and secondaries |
| Innovator Capital Management | ~$30B+ | Defined-outcome ETFs |
| NEOS Investments | ~$30B | Options-income ETFs |
| Palmer Square | ~$37B | CLOs and structured credit |
Goldman agreed to pay $665 million upfront plus up to $300 million in contingent consideration for Industry Ventures. Its agreement to acquire NEOS carries consideration of up to $2.25 billion, subject to performance and other conditions.
The acquisitions target different businesses:
Industry Ventures → venture capitalInnovator → defined-outcome ETFsNEOS → options-income ETFsPalmer Square → CLOs and structured credit
At roughly $37 billion in AUM, Palmer Square would be the largest of the four by reported assets around the respective transactions.
No final agreement or purchase price for Palmer Square has been announced.
Marina Lyubimova
