Ex-Värde Exec Johnson Launches New Alternative Asset Manager

Ex-Värde Partners executive Neal Johnson has launched a new alternative investment management firm that will focus on opportunistic credit and equity transactions in the middle market, including real estate and finance opportunities. 

The new company, named Hunter Street Partners, is based in Minneapolis, MN, and will seek out idiosyncratic and off-the-run investments that have complex capital structures and companies that don’t have access to traditional bank financing, the company said in a statement. Dealflow will come from a network of contacts including restructuring experts, real estate developers, business operators and specialty lenders, it added. 

Johnson spent nearly a decade at Värde Partners before serving as managing partner and co-CIO of Isles Ranch Partners. Joining him as partners at Hunter Street are former WhiteBox executive Peter Hommeyer as president, ex-Merced Capital managing director Andrew Platt in investments, and former Pine River operations head Jason Hegrenes as COO and CFO.