Goldman Sachs raises $1.2bn for secondaries

Goldman Sachs has raised at least $1.2 billion for its sixth Vintage Fund, according to US Securities and Exchange Commission documents.

The bank’s Vintage series has traditionally focused on secondary assets. Vintage Fund V raised $5.5 billion in 2009, and is dedicated to acquiring portfolios of private equity assets between $1 million and $1 billion in size.

Fund V limited partners included AP Fonden 3, AP Fonden 4, AUSCOAL Super, Australian Government Employees Super Trust, the Chicago Firemen Annuity & Benefit Fraud, the LA84 Foundation, the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which committed $300 million to the vehicle.

The bank had not set a hard-cap on the fund as of April, according to reports.

Michael Miele, Christopher Kojima, Michael Brandmeyer, John Aiello, Brandon Press, Helen Crowley, Marc Boheim, Harold Hope, Edina Jung, Jeanine Lee, Adam Van de Berghe, Jonathan Snider and Karen Attar-Razak are listed as managing members of the general partner for Vintage Fund VI, according to the filing.

The secondaries market has grown substantially over the last three years, and some sources have indicated that deal volume could surpass $25 billion in 2012. A number of prominent LPs have announced their intention to trim their total number of fund manager relationships, which has led many to engage the secondary market as non-distressed sellers of their private equity assets. The market has also been boosted by recent regulatory efforts from the US Government and Europe that forced financial institutions to sell off their private equity portfolios.

Several firms have closed secondary-focused funds in the last year, including Lexingtn Partners, AXA Private Equity and Partners Group. Hamilton Lane and Paul Capital are also fundraising.