What is considered a megafund in the PE space?

The definition of what constitutes a MF these days is somewhat convoluted. Some define it as a firm with a 10bn+ fund, but tbh there is no set or agreed upon definition. Imo I feel like the definition of a MF should be some combo of fund size and the presence of multiple strategies, i.e. what you see at the larger alternative asset managers (i.e. BX, KKR, CG, etc.). If a firm has a large fund and multiple PE strategies (multiple funds, maybe a mid market vehicle or a sector focused vehicle) I think we tend to unanimously agree on their MF status. For example KKR has continued to raise very large, but not as large of funds as some up and coming players (Thoma, etc.) yet there is a never a discussion on if KKR is a MF or not because of the fact that they still raise large funds and have multiple strategies where they have sizable vehicles.

To get back to your question, Ares has in the past raised significant capital (~8bn for their flagship in 2016) and are currently targeting just under 10bn for the next iteration of ACOF. That being said they also just raised 3.5bn for a special opps vehicle and also have an energy PE fund. Overall it comes down to what your definition of a MF is, though I would say the firm’s characteristics at least warrant consideration to be labeled as such (for what it’s worth, they are definitely a MF imo)