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
