StepStone Group Inc (STEP), a global private markets investment firm, is to acquire Greenspring Associates, a venture capital and growth equity platform, and certain of its related entities.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and receipt of requisite fund investor consents.
The combined team of over 70 venture capital and growth equity focused investment professionals working across the United States, Europe and Asia, would manage approximately USD22 billion of venture capital and growth equity assets, if measured as of 31 March, 2021. The combination would expand StepStone’s broader private equity team to over 130 investment professionals, who would manage USD60 billion of assets under management, inclusive of venture capital and growth equity, and USD171 billion of assets under advisement, if measured as of March 31, 2021. This transaction is part of the continued growth of StepStone’s private markets capabilities across asset classes and geographies.
Greenspring is one of the largest venture capital and growth equity specialists with more than USD17 billion of assets under management and USD9 billion of fee-earning assets under management, as of March 31, 2021. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Baltimore, with offices in London, Palo Alto, Beijing and Miami. Greenspring’s mission is to serve as a value-added, lifecycle partner for fund managers and entrepreneurs on both a primary and secondary basis across diversified, direct, secondary and bespoke venture strategies for a varied group of institutions and high net worth individuals.
“StepStone is thrilled to add Greenspring, a company and talented management team we have long admired, to our private markets platform. Joining forces with Greenspring allows StepStone to scale our venture capital and growth equity capabilities, further broadening the menu of private equity solutions as we seek to build the highest quality portfolios for our clients,” says Scott Hart, StepStone’s Co-CEO. “We are pleased to welcome Greenspring Founder and Managing General Partner Ashton Newhall, Managing General Partner Jim Lim, and the entire Greenspring team as the newest members of the StepStone team. We believe that the Greenspring team has built the best venture capital and growth equity platform within private markets. Just as important, they promote a culture of trust and integrity that directly aligns with our values.”
“We are incredibly excited to have the opportunity to provide unprecedented coverage of the global innovation economy in partnership with StepStone, whose platform, values and approach to primary fund, secondary and direct investments align strategically, philosophically and culturally with our own,” says Newhall. “As private markets have matured and companies remain private longer, venture capital and growth equity are increasingly essential ingredients for any private markets program. Our combined global reach, private markets expertise, robust data insights and suite of shared services will benefit our clients, fund managers, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders across both firms.”