Therium Capital Management quietly ceded control of its litigation portfolio to Fortress Investment Group on 11 June 2025, following layoffs and the formation of Therium Capital Advisors. Fortress—now overseeing more than US $6.8 billion in legal assets—has introduced granular spend audits, weekly reporting and strict risk-return hurdles shaped by the UK Supreme Court’s PACCAR ruling. Claimants, including those in the annulled US $14.92 billion Sulu arbitration, could face delays, early settlements or funding withdrawal, while investors brace for lengthened timelines and volatile secondary-market pricing. Full article: https://knowsulu.ph/the-untold-sulu-story/inside-the-fortress-capital-control-and-the-quiet-collapse-of-therium
London, June 17 2025— Fortress Investment Group has quietly
assumed operational control of Therium Capital Management’s global
litigation-funding portfolio, completing a discreet transfer executed on 11
June 2025 after months of deep restructuring at Therium.
The hand-off, which covers more than forty active disputes
spanning Europe, Asia and North America, is the largest realignment the asset
class has seen since the United Kingdom’s PACCAR decision tightened
recoverability rules for funders last year. Fortress, an alternative-assets
manager overseeing roughly US $70 billion and already exposed to some US $6.8
billion in legal assets, will now set budgets, determine strategy and authorise
capital calls for every matter previously under Therium’s watch.
Practitioners predict an immediate cultural shift. Therium
historically offered flexible, claimant-friendly drawdowns and tolerated longer
timelines; Fortress operates on quarterly performance metrics, demands weekly
reporting and applies strict risk-adjusted return hurdles. Claimants whose
cases have drifted, or whose damages models have weakened, may be pressed to
accept earlier settlements, post additional security or face funding withdrawal
if revised forecasts fail to satisfy those hurdles.
Insiders also anticipate tougher document scrutiny. Fortress
is expected to require comprehensive counsel memoranda, granular budgets broken
into six-month tranches and rolling scenario analyses before it releases each
slice of capital. Lawyers who miss new benchmarks risk payment delays, while
co-funders may be asked to surrender a larger share of upside to compensate for
heightened volatility.
The controversial US $14.92 billion claim brought by the
heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu against Malaysia remains funded but “under
review.” Observers believe Fortress will keep the asset on the books until a
Spanish court rules on pending annulment proceedings, yet several sources
caution that further adverse findings could trigger an exit clause embedded in
the transfer agreement.
Stakeholders therefore have a narrow window to renegotiate
terms before Fortress completes its baseline portfolio review in early July.
Delays will likely prove costly for all parties.
Analysts view the takeover as part of a broader
consolidation trend in which large credit houses seek to ring-fence litigation
risk during an era of rising capital costs. Should Fortress succeed in
streamlining the inherited book, peers such as Burford Capital and Omni
Bridgeway may pursue similar bolt-on acquisitions to defend margins and
reassure investors.
For claimants and law firms the message is clear:
documentation must be airtight, timelines realistic and economic models
defensible, because the era of lightly monitored, open-ended funding has ended.
Image Source: Fortress Investment Group
This press release has also been published on VRITIMES
