Lexington and KKR among biggest movers in Q1 pricing

Lexington Partners and KKR were among the managers with the biggest changes in pricing for stakes in funds they manage in the first quarter, according to PEFOX.

Average high bids for the 2008-vintage $7 billion Lexington Capital Partners VII rose 8.7 percent to 75 percent of net asset value between Q4 2015 and Q1 2016, according to data from the London-based advisory firm. Stone Point Capital’s 2010-vintage $3.6 billion Trident V had the biggest increase, rising 13.1 percent to 95 percent of NAV.

Swedish private equity firm EQT’s 2011-vintage €4.8 billion vehicle EQT VI attracted the highest pricing at a 5 percent premium to NAV.

Younger funds like these are attractive to secondaries buyers because they have reasonable amounts of uncalled capital and are best placed to acquire assets at a discount in the event of an economic downturn, Kishore Kansal, PEFOX’s managing partner, said.

High bids for the advisory firm’s core 100 funds fell to 91 percent from 94 percent of NAV on average in the first quarter. This is a 5.2 percent drop from a year earlier when average for the same funds was 96 percent of NAV.

KKR 2006 Fund, a $17.6 billion buyout fund, had the second-biggest drop in pricing, falling over 11 percent to 85 percent of NAV. The biggest loser was Madison Dearborn VI, which attracted average high bids of 97 percent of NAV, an almost 12 percent quarterly drop.

Almost a quarter of the top 100 funds had pricing at par or above NAV, according to the data.

PEFOX bases its database on a global range of buyers’ transactions, Kansal said.