Auda acquires three Thomas Weisel funds, hires Munafo – update

Updated to show amount of committed capital and a comment from Auda.

Fund of funds manager Auda International has taken over three funds representing $150 million in committed capital from asset manager Thomas Weisel Partners, with a secondaries executive joining Auda from the firm to continue managing the funds.

New York-based firm Auda acquired the three secondaries funds, according to a statement from Auda. A spokesman at Auda declined to say which funds had been bought.

Christian Munafo, who led San Francisco-based Thomas Weisel’s secondaries programme, has joined Auda to continue managing the funds as well as to develop Auda’s secondaries operations.

“The three secondary funds represent approximately $150 million in original committed capital and Auda has co-invested with Christian on several highly complex secondary transactions over the last five years,” Chris Lawrence, managing director at Auda told Secondaries Investor.

Munafo first worked with Auda in 2008 through a direct secondaries transaction in a company where Auda was an active co-investor, the statement said.

“Given their strong historical results and promising prospects, we are confident that the funds will be a meaningful addition to Auda’s current asset base,” Ernest Boles, Auda chief executive said in the statement. “Bringing Mr Munafo onboard maintains continuity with both the funds’ investors and the underlying portfolios themselves.

Auda closed its latest secondaries fund, Auda Secondary Fund III, above target on $332 million in 2013 after 16 months of fundraising.