Adams Street holds interim secondaries close

Adams Street Partners is approaching the halfway point on fundraising for its latest secondaries vehicle.

The Chicago-headquartered firm has collected $744.9 million for Adams Street Global Secondary Fund 7, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund is targeting $1.5 billion to invest in buyout and growth equity funds, Secondaries Investor reported in February.

Adams Street held a $426 million first close on Fund VII last June. The close was anchored by a $300 million commitment from Minnesota State Board of Investment, which increased the size of its ticket threefold from Fund VI.

Global Secondary Fund VI closed on $1.05 billion in June 2019, after around 28 months in market, according to Secondaries Investor data. The overall programme raised $2 billion. Fund IV had generated a 1.77x multiple and an IRR of 47.68 percent as of 31 December, according to a source familiar with the matter.

In a March whitepaper, Adams Street’s head of secondaries Jeff Akers said the firm expected to see an increase in secondaries deal volume as public market volatility drives LPs to de-risk their portfolios and GPs look to deal with extended hold periods.

Adams Street will target GPs, companies and sectors where it has an informational advantage that allows it to profit from “value arbitrage”, with a preference for businesses with predictable, non-cyclical business models and low leverage levels, Akers said.

“Most often, finding well-managed companies that offer a valuation cushion relative to intrinsic value means working with sponsors with conservative valuation policies and experience managing through multiple previous periods of market volatility,” he added.

Adams Street did not wish to comment on fundraising.

Article updated to reflect accurate size of Fund VI and new performance data