Private investment company Ardian’s latest cycle of fundraising has attracted USD10 billion from investors worldwide.
The USD10 billion is composed of USD9 billion from Ardian’s sixth generation secondary platform active in buyout and expansion, with co-investment rights, and a further USD1 billion of primary commitments.
Since the start of 2014 Ardian has committed over USD2 billion through three secondary transactions.
Among these, Ardian has acquired buyout and growth portfolios from a financial institution for USD600 million, and has been chosen by Temasek to provide independent valuation and manage their new co-investment platform holding 36 private equity funds.
These transactions happened after having completed some 21 transactions and deploying over USD4.3 billion between September 2012 and end of 2013.
The USD10 billion sum is the largest amount ever raised in this class of funds of funds and highlights investors’ continuing strong appetite for this asset class.
The latest vintage has attracted major institutional investors from North America, Europe, the Middle-East and Asia, primarily pension funds, government agencies, and family offices.
Vincent Gombault, managing partner and head of fund of funds and private debt at Ardian, says: “Since 1999 we have strived to build a detailed knowledge of the private equity market, the best managed funds and the portfolios that offer high potential in terms of value creation. Over the last 15 years, the exceptional track-record of all our funds has won the trust of our investors, based on two fundamentals: visibility and high returns. These are the fundamental reasons why we have managed to raise funds of this size in such a short period of time.”
Benoit Verbrugghe, managing partner and head of Ardian USA, adds: “We see a positive outlook for secondary deal flow in 2014 in the US, Europe and Asia, negating any suggestion that the market is losing its prominence within the wider spectrum of private equity. A vibrant secondaries market is hugely important for the investment industry as it offers much needed liquidity.
“However, the industry is evolving and there are fewer players with the necessary resources to be able to keep pace and truly deliver value for investors. We predict that the LPs will concentrate on GPs in secondaries with the best track record.”
