Ares in Closing of Fremman Capital’s Continuation Fund for Kids Planet

Cleary Gottlieb represented Ares Management (Ares) as lead investor in connection with a continuation vehicle sponsored by Fremman Capital.

The continuation vehicle acquired Kids Planet, one of the UK’s leading nursery operators, from existing Fremman funds. The oversubscribed transaction closed on March 16, 2026 and will help accelerate Kids Planet’s next phase of growth across its network of over 270 nurseries.

The Cleary sponsor solutions team included partner Ken Blazejewski, associate Damien Chang, and law clerk Noah Yabrov. Partners Michael James and Chris Gollop advised on English law matters. Partners Jason Factor and Susanna Parker and associate Rachel Pritzlaff advised on tax matters. Partner Liz Dyer advised on ERISA matters. Partners Chris Cook, Steven Kaiser, and Ricardo Zimbrón advised on antitrust/competition matters.