The partners of Emerging Sovereign Group LLC (ESG) have agreed to buy back the majority stake in the emerging markets-focused hedge fund manager that was acquired by Carlyle Group LP in 2011, Carlyle said on Wednesday.

The move comes as Carlyle has chosen to focus more on credit-oriented investment strategies, such as direct lending, distressed debt and collateralized loan obligations, while ESG has remained an equities-focused hedge fund firm.

ESG was founded in 2002 by former Morgan Stanley colleagues Kevin Kenny, Mete Tuncel and Jason Kirschner with seed capital from Tiger Management founder Julian Robertson. It has $3.5 billion is assets, up from $1.25 billion when Carlyle acquired a controlling stake in it in 2011.

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