Firms and Funds

Could the active secondary market ruin the primary fundraising market for next year? It's a long shot, but so was missing capital calls, we thought. The question was posed by Mac Hofeditz of Probitas Partners at the recent Buyouts West conference, based on a thesis that secondaries are too cheap to pass up. Why would you pay full price for a piece of Carlyle Partners V when you can get exposure to the same managers in Carlyle Partners IV at a deep discount? Think about it. Just two years ago, secondary buyers were paying premiums for access to top-tier firms like they were memberships to exclusive clubs, said John Poerink of LJH Linley Capital. Now, it's open enrollment season, and at bargain prices. For example, The Financial Times and Bloomberg this morning reported discounts as high as 50% and 65% on funds from

Standard Bank, the South African bank, will seek to raise third party money in the next two-to-three years to invest in private equity. The bank, the biggest lender in the African continent, will focus on completing around 20 deals from its balance sheet before looking to institutional investors to raise a third party fund, reports […]

BEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Private equity investor Actis has closed a new $2.9 billion global emerging markets fund, exceeding its initial target of $2.5 billion, the firm said on Monday. It said the fund, Actis Emerging Markets 3 (AEM3), had won commitments from a diversified group of 100 investors from across the globe, including […]

Ukraine-headquartered Horizon Capital has closed its second fund on US$390m. Emerging Europe Growth Fund II exceeded its US$300m target, with commitments from existing investors such as The Church Pension Fund, Amanda Capital, CV Starr and FMO, as well as attracting new LPs like Industriens Pension (Denmark), Alpha Associates (Switzerland), UTIMCO (USA), and the International Finance […]

French buyouts firm AXA Private Equity has acquired a majority stake in the Benelux food ingredients group Sfinc from GIMV.

Sale of diary products company earns firm a 2x return

French private equity firm Pechel Industries Partenaires has reached a final close on its third fund, Pechel Industries III, with a total of €165m raised. The Paris-based lower mid-market investor will target development capital and LBO opportunities in its home country.