AIG portfolio contained 3i, Doughty, Darwin stakes

American International Group‘s sale of private equity interests to Ardian and PineBridge Investments contained European buyout stakes, UK regulatory filings reveal.

The secondaries firms emerged as the buyers in a sale that AIG, one of the US’s largest insurers, had brought to market in April, as Secondaries Investor reported. The insurer had sought buyers for $2.3-billion-worth of interests and did not use an intermediary.

According to Companies House filings, AIG subsidiary American Home Assurance Company sold stakes in 3i, DH Private Equity Partners and Darwin Private Equity-managed funds:

• 3i Europartners V is a 2006-vintage €5 billion fund that invested mainly in the European mid-market.
• Doughty Hanson V is a 2007-vintage €3 billion fund that holds one asset – oil and gas industry services provider ASCO – according to manager DH Private Equity Partners’ website.
• Darwin Private Equity I is a 2007-vintage £217 million ($282 million; €247 million) vehicle.

The acquiring vehicle was Beehive Secondary Partners, according to the filings.

In October, PineBridge said it had raised $880 million to acquire a portfolio of mainly US mid-market buyout funds stakes and some global funds. The firm’s latest dedicated secondaries fund is its $568 million for PineBridge Secondary Partners IV vehicle, which closed in March, according to PEI data.

Insurers and financial institutions were the third-most active sellers last year, accounting for 18 percent of deal volume, according to UBS’s 2018 Secondary Market Survey and Outlook.

AIG, PineBridge and 3i declined to comment. Ardian, DH Private Equity Partners and Darwin did not return requests for comment by press time.