Corporate Partners to restructure second fund

Corporate Partners, the former private equity arm of investment bank Lazard, is looking to restructure its $1.1 billion 2005-vintage Corporate Partners Fund II, according to two sources with knowledge of the deal.

The process is being handled by Lazard’s secondaries advisory arm, with the remaining NAV in the portfolio understood to be $500 million, according to one source.

Lazard declined to comment and Corporate Partners did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

Secondaries Investor understands that Corporate Partners is seeking to recapitalise the fund to allow current LPs to leave the fund and to gather fresh capital for new investments. A regulatory listing shows Lazard as having a $100 million commitment to Fund II.

Corporate Partners spun out of Lazard Alternative Investments in February 2009. It invests in minority stake mid-market transactions in North America and western Europe. Targeted deals range in size between $25 million and $100 million, and account for up to 49 percent of a target company’s share capital, according to its website.

Corporate Partners II pursued investments in consumer goods, financial services, general industrial and business services, health care, technology, power and energy and telecommunications, according to PEI data.

Corporate Partners is led by managing principals Jonathan Kagan and Michael Wildish, formerly general partners at Lazard; and Ali Wambold, formerly chief executive officer of Lazard’s alternative investment division.