Ares Capital Escapes Suit Over Refinancing Deal Led by Oaktree

Ares Management Corp. dodged claims over a deal to refinance Infrastructure & Energy Alternative Inc., when a Delaware judge ruled it was off the hook for its “benign participation” in a $50 million transaction led by Oaktree Capital, the construction company’s controlling shareholder.

To be “liable for aiding and abetting a fiduciary’s wrongdoing,” a defendant “must know wrongdoing is afoot and exploit it,” Vice Chancellor Morgan Zurn wrote. “Allegations that an investor merely participated alongside a known controller are insufficient.”

In addition to Ares, which owns a minority of IEA—a company specializing in construction related to wind and solar ...