Pantheon closes fourth secondaries fund on $3bn

The $3bn fundraising total includes a $300m separate account with the Ohio Public Employees’ Retirement System.

Pantheon has closed its fourth global secondaries fund on $3 billion after almost two years of fundraising, according to market sources.

The Pantheon fundraising total includes the core secondaries fund and a $300 million separate account with the Ohio Public Employees’ Retirement System, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm’s original target was $3.75 billion, according to a previous SEC filing. Its hard cap was $4.7 billion.

Pantheon declined to comment.

Fundraising for Fund IV started in late 2008, at a time when the private equity industry was slipping into a deep fundraising freeze. Another notable fund launched at the time, The Blackstone Group’s sixth buyout fund, has yet to achieve a final close, which is expected any day on $13.5 billion, down from an original target of roughly $20 billion.

Pantheon’s third global secondaries fund collected $2 billion in 2006.

Elly Livingstone, who has been with Pantheon since 2001, leads the global secondaries team from London.

In September, Pantheon hired placement agent veteran Kevin Albert from Elevation Partners to work out of the New York office as partner and global head of business development.

Pantheon earlier this year declined a $500 million secondaries-focused mandate from China Investment Corporation (CIC) because it found the terms unfavourable, a source told PEO at the time.