LACERA sells Jordan Co stake ahead of portfolio sale close

The stake in Resolute Fund II, which priced at par, is separate to the $1bn-plus portfolio divestment.

Los Angeles County Employees’ Retirement Association has sold a stake in a mature buyout fund, a prelude to the expected close of a $1 billion-plus portfolio sale.

The Californian pension sold an interest in Resolute Fund II, a 2007-vintage buyout fund managed by The Jordan Company, according to documents prepared for its October investment committee meeting.

The net asset value of the stake was $26.7 million as of the end of last year, the documents note. The sale priced at par. LACERA’s original commitment was $60 million, and its unfunded commitment was $5.85 million at the time of sale.

The identity of the buyer and whether the pension used an advisor are not clear.

The sale is separate to the ongoing portfolio transaction, which Secondaries Investor reported in February, a LACERA representative confirmed.

Resolute Fund II, which targets the US upper mid-market, held its final close on $3.6 billion in 2007, having launched the same year, according to PEI data. Its initial target was $2.5 billion.

The fund achieved a since-inception net internal rate of return of 9.05 percent as of 31 March, according to performance data from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.

Remaining assets include Drew Marine, which manufactures chemicals for the maritime industry, according to legal documents filed with the Federal Trade Commission.

In May LACERA ran a competitive tender process for a secondaries advisor to help it sell up to $1.4 billion of private equity stakes. Greenhill was chosen, with Evercore and Campbell Lutyens added to a “bench of approved service providers” that can be called upon to help it buy and sell secondaries in future.

In August Greenhill recommended that LACERA sell $1.1 billion of stakes across one large and one small portfolio. The main portfolio, with $1.09 billion of NAV, will hold stakes in 37 buyout, six distressed and two fund of funds/secondaries/co-investment vehicles. The second will hold 44 small and tail end-funds worth $55 million.

The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

LACERA has $55.95 billion in total assets under management, 10 percent of which are in private equity, according to PEI data.