OMERS Private Equity and AXA Private Equity have signed an agreement in connection with the sale by OMERS to AXA Private Equity of a portfolio of 11 private equity fund investments and the related unfunded commitments. The portfolio of entirely buyout funds represents a total size of approximately $850 million in original commitments.”This transaction is consistent with OMERS strategic shift towards direct investing,” said Paul Renaud, Chief Executive Officer, OMERS Private Equity.
Following on from AXA Private Equity’s $1.7 billion acquisition of private equity assets from Citigroup in June 2011, and its $740 million acquisition of private equity assets from Barclays in June 2011, this latest transaction continues the firm’s secondary funds strategy to offer liquidity to large institutions looking to monetize their private equity investments.s direct investing,” said Paul Renaud, Chief Executive Officer, OMERS Private Equity.
“This is a large and significant transaction where we have excellent visibility on the assets, especially given that we are an existing investor in many of the funds,” said Benoit Verbrugghe, Senior Managing Director and Head of North America for AXA Private Equity. “Having an international team with global reach gives us excellent perspective on pricing and quality, allowing us to be opportunistic on behalf of our investors and reinforce our strategy of buying excellent quality assets.”
AXA Private Equity invests in buyout; expansion capital; venture capital; co-investments; infrastructure; mezzanine; and primary, early secondary and secondary funds of funds. The firm has assets under management of more than $28 billion. AXA Private Equity has offices in Paris, Frankfurt, London, Milan, New York, Zurich, Vienna and Singapore (www.axaprivateequity.com).
OMERS Private Equity manages the private equity activities of OMERS, one of Canada’s largest pension funds. The group’s investment strategy includes the active ownership of businesses in North America and Europe. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, financial and business services, industrial and consumer products, transportation, and technology. Investment sizes range from $100 million to $500 million. The firm is located in Toronto offices in New York and London and has $6.5 billion of investments under management (www.omerspe.com).
