Abbott passes halfway on latest secondaries fundraise

Abbott Capital Management has made headway on fundraising for its second dedicated private equity secondaries fund.

The investment manager and consultant has raised $129.6 million for Abbott Secondary Opportunities II, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Hong Kong-based Diamond Dragon Advisors and Switzerland’s WAI Alternative Investments are listed as placement agents.

Secondaries Investor reported in February last year that Abbott had returned to market with a target of $250 million. Ventura County Employees Retirement Association is a cornerstone investor in the fund, having committed $25 million, according to Secondaries Investor data.

Fund II acquires single limited partner interests and small portfolios, and backs complex deals at the smaller end of the secondaries market, Secondaries Investor reported last year. The fund will lean on relationships formed through its primary platform for deal sourcing, and less so on intermediated processes.

Focusing on more concentrated deals with clear return drivers allows Abbott to “prioritise dealflow and conduct in-depth and meaningful diligence”, managing director Meredith Rerisi wrote in a January whitepaper.

Predecessor Abbott Secondary Opportunities raised $208 million by final close in 2017 with VCERA, The University of Utah and Wildermuth Endowment Fund among its limited partners, according to Secondaries Investor data.

The fund delivered a net internal rate of return of 25.2 percent and total value to paid-in multiple of 1.34x as of the end of June, according to VCERA data.

Abbott declined to comment on fundraising.

Secondaries funds that held final closes during 2020 raised $95.57 billion, exceeding all previous full-year totals, Secondaries Investor data show.