Auda raises $322m for secondaries

US-based Auda International has closed its latest secondary fund on $332 million, exceeding its $300 million target.

Auda Secondary Fund III, which officially closed on 31 December 2013, collected more than 60 percent of the capital from Auda’s existing investors, according to a statement. The fund attracted 12 new institutional investors from both Europe and the US, representing more than 30 percent of ASF III’s committed capital.

Investors in the fund include public and private pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations and financial institutions, as well as family offices and high net-worth individuals.

Like its predecessor funds, ASF III will focus on “less competitive niches in the global secondary market” and will target “smaller and more complex transactions”, the firm said.

“We are pleased by the strong support from existing Auda investors,” Ernest Boles, Auda’s chief executive officer, said in the statement. “With nearly 25 years of experience in the private equity markets, Auda’s track record of balancing risk and return clearly resonates with a variety of global investors.”

LPs in previous Auda secondaries fund included AP Fonden 3, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York Life Insurance Company, Rollins College, Santa Barbara Foundation, SunAmerica Ventures and Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, according to Private Equity International’s Research & Analytics division.

Auda International was founded in 1989 and offers primary fund of funds, secondary fund of funds, direct co-investment funds and separately managed accounts. The firm has investment teams in the US, Europe and Asia and has a total of $5.3 billion of assets under management.