Deals

Goldman leads Duke Street restructuring – exclusive

The investment bank's private equity unit may syndicate the deal on the €963m Duke Street Capital Fund VI, Secondaries Investor has learned.

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Goldman Sachs Asset Management is the main buyer in a restructuring of UK buyout firm Duke Street‘s 2006-vintage fund, Secondaries Investor has learned.

The bank’s AIMS private equity group is working with the London-headquartered firm to offer liquidity to investors in its €963 million Duke Street Capital VI fund, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The process is likely to involve moving assets from the fund into a new vehicle and may be syndicated with other secondaries buyers, one of the sources said. Duke Street VI has about €240 million in remaining net asset value and the deal is expected to close in December or the first quarter of next year, according to the sources.

Lazard is understood to be advising on the process.

The ultimate size of the deal depends on how many limited partners in Fund VI decide to sell their stakes, one of the sources said, adding that the structure of the process and the new vehicle have not been finalised.

The fund holds five or six assets, according to the two sources, including pan-Asian casual restaurant chain Wagamama. Duke Street had also invested in UK dentistry chain Oasis Dental Care through the fund, and then sold it to private equity firm Bridgepoint in 2013 for £183 million ($233 million; €217 million) although it retained a minority stake.

In November, Bridgepoint agreed to sell Oasis to healthcare group Bupa in a deal that values the business at £835 million. The sale will generate a money multiple of 4x for Bridgepoint’s LPs, as sister publication Private Equity International reported. It is understood Duke Street has also sold its minority interest.

Financial News first reported that Duke Street was running a secondaries process on Fund VI.

LPs in Duke Street VI include Greater Manchester Pension Fund, AlpInvest Partners and Lancashire County Pension Fund, according to PEI data.

Duke Street has €2.4 billion in assets under management.

Goldman Sachs and Duke Street declined to comment. Lazard did not return a request for comment.