The California Public Employees’ Retirement System has freed up cash for new investments by offloading about $6 billion in private equity stakes in secondary transactions, according to a report by Pensions & Investments.
The move comes after the $441.7 billion public pension fund appointed Jefferies Financial to rationalise its portfolio, including roughly $50 billion in PE investments.
According to unnamed sources cited in the report, buyers include Lexington Partners, an investment business of Franklin Resources, and CVC Capital Partners’ Glendower Capital. The sell-off, at roughly 10% below the September 2021 value, is the largest of its kind carried out by CalPERS, and also thought to be the biggest-ever on the PE secondaries market.
