Partners Group has closed Partners Group Secondary 2015, LP, its latest private equity secondary fund at the hard cap of €2.5 billion ($2.8 billion). The new fund is the sixth secondary fund raised by the firm and follows Partners Group Secondary 2011, which closed at €2 billion in 2012.
“We are extremely proud of having successfully raised the sixth consecutive private equity secondary program, with client demand significantly exceeding capacity,” said Dr. Stephan Schäli, a partner and co-head of private equity at Partners Group. “Since the close of our 2011 fund, the private equity secondary market has further matured and is today an established portfolio management tool among the most sophisticated private markets investors.”
According to data from Partners Group, the firm saw significant deal flow and screened over $91 billion in private equity secondary opportunities last year. However, in last year’s high-price environment, the firm declined 99% of this deal flow volume. Given the current volatility in equity markets, the firm expects prices to come down from recent highs and create more of a buyer’s market in the coming years.
Partners Group made its first private equity secondary investment in 1998. Since then, it has invested more than $13 billion in the strategy and as a result is considered by many to be one of the most active secondary investors worldwide. In total, Partners Group has $50 billion of assets under management in private equity, private real estate, private infrastructure and private debt. The firm is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, and has over 800 employees in 18 offices (www.partnersgroup.com).
“Partners Group continues to focus on underwriting either undervalued inflection assets with significant remaining value creation potential or mature assets with high exit visibility,” said Adam Howarth, a managing director, and a co-head of private equity secondaries. “As the market has matured and grown in size, we have also increased our focus on non-standard secondary transactions, structured to ensure that both the returns for our clients and the exit proposition for sellers are attractive. Our scale, experience, network and proprietary know-how are unique in the market and position us well to do this.”
Investors in the new fund include both new and re-upping institutional investors from public and corporate pension plans, endowment funds and foundations, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and financial institutions.
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 3-18-16
