Wafra has held a final close of Constellation Generation IV LP (CG IV) at its target of $1.5 billion. Wafra’s new fund is the latest in its Constellation series that makes minority investments in alternative asset managers.
The Constellation series of funds were formed by The Alaska Permanent Fund, the Public Institution for Social Security of Kuwait, RPMI Railpen, and Wafra to invest in next-generation private equity and alternatives managers. To date, Constellation funds have made investments in nine firms, including Avista Capital (January 2021), Post Road Group (March 2022) and Broad Sky Partners (January 2022).
“For over a decade, Wafra has pursued a strategy of providing catalytic capital to the next generation of alternative investment managers,” said Lauren Rich, a managing director at Wafra. “Through the Constellation platform, Wafra has continued this strategy and partnered with some of the world’s most highly respected institutional investors. CG IV is the most recent iteration of this innovative partnership.”
With the close of CG IV, Wafra has now raised approximately $2.5 billion for its Constellation funds. Constellation’s third fund, Constellation Generation III LP, closed in January 2020 with $890 million in capital commitments.
“We continue to be energized by the investment opportunity set and meeting CG IV’s target size reflects limited partner demand to build long-term, aligned partnerships with the next generation of investors,” said Gustavo Cardenas, a managing director at Wafra. “We believe our disciplined approach and partner alignment creates real value for asset managers and allows us to serve as a true strategic partner rather than a transactional counterparty.”
With the closing of CG IV, the Constellation network expanded with the addition of four new partners. Its twelve-member group now includes AP3, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Hartford Investment Management Company, Kuwait Investment Authority, Mubadala Capital, New York State Common Retirement Fund, Orange County Employees Retirement System, RPMI Railpen, and The Alaska Permanent Fund.
“Constellation’s thesis of aligning talented management teams with preeminent institutional investors continues to be borne out in the track record of investment performance and caliber of partners within the Constellation network,” said Daniel Adamson, a senior managing director at Wafra and the president of Capital Constellation. “With the successful conclusion of CG IV’s fundraise, we have made real strides toward realizing the vision laid out by Constellation’s founding members.”
Wafra has $32 billion of assets under management and is headquartered in New York with additional offices in London, Kuwait and Bermuda.
© 2022 Private Equity Professional | November 23, 2022
