Aug 12 (Reuters) - Janus Henderson ( JHG ) said on

Monday it was buying private credit manager Victory Park

Capital, as the asset manager seeks to expand its footprint in

the private equity lending space.

Money managers are vying for a slice of the growing private

credit market, which emerged after the 2008 financial crisis.

Private credit funds are increasingly competing with banks,

including to finance large company buyouts.

The deal follows the recent acquisition of National Bank of

Kuwait's alternative investments business by Janus Henderson ( JHG ),

which manages an asset portfolio worth $353 billion. That deal

is expected to strengthen its position in emerging markets and

its access to clientele in the Middle East.

Founded in 2007 by Richard Levy and Brendan Carroll,

Chicago-headquartered VPC invests across industries, geographies

and asset classes on behalf of its long-standing institutional

clients. It has about $6 billion in assets under management.

The value of this acquisition, which is subject to

regulatory approval, was not disclosed. However, the deal

comprises a mix of cash and shares of Janus Henderson ( JHG ) common

stock and is expected to be neutral-to-accretive to its earnings

per share in 2025.

Janus Henderson ( JHG ) has $36.3 billion in securitized assets

under management globally and expects that VPC will complement

and build upon them, the company said.