Funds traded in CalPERS’ $3bn sale disclosed

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System‘s (CalPERS) $3 billion real estate fund sale to Strategic Partners last year included stakes in Niam, CBRE Group, LaSalle and Starwood Capital Group funds, UK regulatory filings show.

Fund stakes transferred by the US’ largest pension were disclosed in separate filings between December 2015 and January 2016. The portfolio sale was the largest-ever secondaries deal.

The disposal included the following funds:

• CB Richard Ellis Strategic Partners Europe Fund III is a 2007-vintage €754 million vehicle managed by CBRE, focusing on value-added investments across Europe.

• Europe Fund III closed on €809 million in June 2007 and focuses on opportunistic property investment across all sectors in Europe. The fund, which was launched by JER Partners, was taken over by LaSalle Investment Management in February 2012 after LaSalle agreed to manage and advise on JER’s European portfolio following the poor performance of JER’s funds, as sister publication PERE reported.

• LaSalle Asia Opportunity Fund III is a $2.9 billion vehicle focusing on opportunistic investments in the Asia Pacific region. The fund is managed by real estate manager LaSalle Investment Management and its assets include Liberty Place in Sydney.

• SDL Hospitality Co-Invest Fund is a 2005-vintage $550 million vehicle managed by Starwood. The vehicle follows a value-added strategy and invests globally in the hospitality sector, according to PEI Research & Analytics.

• Niam Nordic Fund IV, which closed below its €700 million target on €670 million in 2007 and is managed by Stockholm-based private equity firm Niam. The fund, which follows an opportunistic strategy in central and western Europe, has a 17 percent net internal rate of return and a 1.7x multiple, according to Niam’s website.

• Harbert European Real Estate Fund II is a 2007-vintage $305 million vehicle managed by Harbert.

The portfolio comprised 43 international and domestic funds from CalPERS’s non-strategic, legacy real estate portfolio, as Secondaries Investor reported. It comprises more than 350 underlying properties, mainly in the US, with a significant exposure to Europe, and a small exposure to emerging markets.

CalPERS’s legacy portfolio had exposure to 75 fund interests on 30 June, with a market value of $5.3 billion as of 31 March, according to the pension fund’s CIO Performance Report.

CalPERS, Strategic Partners and CBRE declined to comment. Niam, LaSalle, Starwood and Harbert did not return requests for comment.