CVC, Apax, TPG funds top buyers’ wish lists

Mega-firms topped the charts in terms of secondaries buyers’ wish lists last year, according to London-based placement and advisory firm Cebile Capital.

Interests in funds managed by CVC, Apax, Altor, BC Partners and Cinven were the five most sought-after in terms of European managers, while the five most in-demand US funds were from TPG, Bain Capital,  Hellman & Friedman, ABRY and Advent International.

The full list follows below; 37 percent are European managers with the balance US-based.

Cebile said it used two measures to create its list: the ‘Cebile Liquidity Rating’ and the ‘Cebile Demand Gauge’, “which seek to measure how easily a firm’s funds would trade on the secondary market, based on the interest level and demand from secondaries buyers”. It rates demand as high, medium or low from buyers including secondaries funds, fund of funds and institutional investors.

“The market for investment in global secondaries funds improved substantially in 2014, reflecting a growing level of comfort amongst investors, and the market will continue to develop as investors and fund managers become more sophisticated in their approach. As an adviser to buyers and sellers of secondaries interests, we use the list as a proxy for market trends, and are greatly encouraged by last year’s demand,” managing partner Sunaina Sinha said in a statement.

Cebile also noted that secondaries transactions hit a record high in 2014, reaching, by its estimate, approximately $40 billion worldwide in 2014, while it estimated the total raised for secondaries funds grew to approximately $60 billion.