Avenue Capital Group is a Global investment firm focusing on distressed securities and private equity with regional teams focusing on opportunities in the United States, Europe and Asia. The firm operates as both a private equity firm and as a hedge fund. Avenue’s core strategy is focused on distressed debt and equity securities although the firm also manages investment funds that focus on long-short opportunities, real estate, and collateralized debt obligations. The firm manages assets valued at approximately $12 billion. The firm was founded by former professionals of Amroc Investments, an affiliate of the Robert M. Bass Group.

The firm is headquartered in New York City, with offices in London, Luxembourg, Munich, Beijing, Hong Kong, New Delhi and Singapore. The firm has established an institutional-quality infrastructure in terms of accounting, compliance legal, investor relations, and information technology capabilities. Avenue has approximately 220 employees across its 8 offices worldwide.

Avenue’s investment professionals seek "good companies with bad balance sheets" — firms with sustainable businesses and positive cash flow but whose financial situation is distressed. The investment team uses Avenue’s top-down/bottom-up approach to find undervalued opportunities and typically seeks to make non-operational control investments in troubled businesses. This provides the strategy maximum trading flexibility and allows Avenue’s investment professionals to focus on pre-investment research and analysis rather than post-investment operating issues.

In the fall of 2006, Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former president Bill Clinton, joined the firm shortly after leaving McKinsey & Company, a management consultancy. However, she has since left the firm and returned to graduate school.

Bloomberg reported that as of Feb. 28, 2010, Avenue Capital Group is the 13th largest hedge fund in the world.

History
Avenue Capital Group was founded in 1995 by Marc Lasry and Sonia Gardner. The two founders had previously founded Amroc Investments in 1989 as a $100 million distressed debt investment fund organized in association with the Robert M. Bass Group.

In 1995, Mr. Lasry and Ms. Gardner started their first Avenue fund, Avenue Investments, with less than $10 million. This onshore fund has grown to $509 million as of December 31, 2012.

In 1997, Mr. Lasry and Ms. Gardner formed their second Avenue fund called Avenue International. This offshore fund attracts U.S. tax exempt and non-U.S. investors. As of December 31, 2012, Avenue International has $1,461 million in assets under management.

In 2012, The firm was featured in Maneet Ahuja’s book, The Alpha Masters: Unlocking the Genius of the World’s Top Hedge Funds.

Since its inception in 1995, Avenue has raised 13 private equity style investment funds across its three principal regions (US, Europe and Asia) to invest in distressed securities and real estate:

United States
1998 - Avenue Special Situations I - $133 million
2001 - Avenue Special Situations II - $520 million
2003 - Avenue Special Situations III - $628 million
2006 - Avenue Special Situations IV - $1.68 billion
2007 - Avenue Real Estate Fund - $166 million
2007 - Avenue Special Situations V - $6.0 billion
2011 - Avenue Special Situations Fund VI - $1.9 billion 
 
Asia
2001 - Avenue Asia Capital Partners - $126 million
2001 - Avenue Asia Special Situations II - $275 million
2003 - Avenue Asia Special Situations III - $628 million
2006 - Avenue Asia Special Situations Fund IV - $3.0 billion

Europe
2008 - Avenue Europe Special Situations Fund - €1.5 billion
2012 - Avenue Europe Special Situations Fund II – $2.78 billion

Avenue launched its Asian-focused distressed business in 1999. In 2004, Avenue launched its European-focused distressed business with Rich Furst as the senior portfolio manager. While building distressed debt, the European branch of the firm also writes loans for small companies that are unable to obtain financing.

Ownership
In October 2006, Morgan Stanley bought a non-controlling 15% stake in the firm. Marc Lasry and Sonia Gardner invested 100% of the proceeds they received from Morgan Stanley back into the Avenue funds.

Corporate Responsibility
In 2012, Avenue Capital Group received an extraordinary performance award for the money raised by its employees. Avenue Capital Group raised over $100,000. Avenue Capital Group served as a sponsor in 2010 and 2011 and, in July 2012 Avenue’s President, Sonia Gardner, hosted a breakfast on inMotion’s behalf to encourage other firms to participate.