Pimco’s Blank-Check IPOs Highlight Growing Alternatives Playbook

Pacific Investment Management Co. is known for its traditional bond funds, but its latest bets show how the firm is stretching deeper into alternative strategies.

Pimco sponsored its first blank-check company this month, partnering with Texas entrepreneur R. Steven Hicks to raise $276 million in an initial public offering. The firm is working on a second such deal, backing a planned $350 million IPO led by venture capitalist Vivek Ranadive. It’s also raising a $3 billion distressed-debt fund targeting fixed-income dislocations.

“We’re expanding our reach, identifying situations where our capital can solve problems,” said Greg Hall, head of ...