Seward & Kissel represented Kudu Investment Management, LLC (“Kudu”), a provider of permanent capital solutions to independent asset and wealth managers worldwide, in its minority investment in Escalate Capital Partners (“Escalate”), a private credit and growth equity investment firm that targets rapidly growing later-stage companies within the software, services and health-care sectors. Founded in 2005 and based in Austin, Texas, Escalate has invested more than $1 billion in the U.S. software, services, and healthcare sectors and has raised more than $850 million from institutional and individual investors.  Since 2018, New York-based Kudu has acquired minority stakes in 18 asset and wealth managers that are headquartered in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia and collectively invest more than $70 billion on behalf of individual and institutional investors worldwide in traditional and alternative strategies and market segments. Kudu’s capital partners are White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual).