News & Analysis

Hollyport acquires more buyout stakes from BlackRock

The tail-end specialist has acquired more stakes from the world's largest asset manager using its latest secondaries vehicle.

-

Hollyport Capital has picked up more tail-end buyout stakes from BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager.

The firm transferred its entire interest in Third Cinven Fund to Hollyport, according to a UK regulatory filing. BlackRock also transferred its stake in EQT III to Hollyport, according to a separate filing. The firm used its Hollyport Secondary Opportunities V fund to acquire both stakes.

Hollyport also recently acquired interests in Bridgepoint Europe II from BlackRock. It was not clear if the Cinven and EQT stakes were part of the same deal or when these latest deals closed.

Third Cinven Fund launched in 2001 and closed the following year on €4.4 billion above its €3.5 billion target, according to PEI Research and Analytics. The vehicle had a net internal rate of return of 32 percent as of 30 June, according to a performance document from the Washington State Investment Board, an investor in the fund.

The fund has held assets including Amadeus, a multinational IT provider for the travel and tourism industry that went public in 2011, generating a 7x return on original investment and a €1.4 billion capital gain, according to Cinven’s Annual Review 2011. It is not clear how many portfolio companies are left in the fund.

EQT III is a €2 billion vehicle from 2001 that made 13 investments during its lifetime. It invested in medium-sized companies in Northern Europe across engineering, medical technology, telecommunications, automotive, consumer goods and business services sectors. The fund was terminated in 2015.

Hollyport Secondary Opportunities V closed in November above target on £187.5 million ($265 million; €232 million) after five months of fundraising, according to PEI data.

Cinven, which has €12 billion in assets under management, is currently raising its latest fund, Sixth Cinven Fund, with a target of €5.5 billion, according to PEI data.

Hollyport declined to comment. BlackRock and Cinven did not respond to requests for comment. EQT did not return a request for comment by press time.

Hollyport was unable to comment. Cinven declined to provide any further details on the occasion. BlackRock and EQT did not return a request for comment by press time.