Paul Capital solidifies presence in Brazil, HK

US secondaries and fund of funds firm Paul Capital Partners has hired Duncan Littlejohn to run its São Paulo office, an expansion move that follows the opening of the firm’s Hong Kong office last year.

Littlejohn joined Paul Capital earlier this year and has served as a consultant to the firm since 2007. He has been in Brazil since 1989 and was previously a partner at Brazilian private equity firm BPE Investimentos and its predecessor, Brasilpar.

Paul Capital is the first secondaries firm to open an office in Latin America, said David de Weese, a New York-based partner. The firm’s foreign offices often uncover secondary opportunities the firm wouldn’t otherwise see, such as those originating from quasi-government organizations and wealthy families, de Weese said.

The Brazilian office was established approximately one year ago to help the firm conduct due diligence on secondary private equity transactions in the region as well as source potential sellers of partnership interests throughout Latin America.

The firm’s Hong Kong office was opened in August 2007 by Jason Sambanju, who joined the firm as a principal at the same time. Sambanju is charged with sourcing and executing secondary transactions in Asia as well as providing due diligence in support of transactions outside the region which have a significant Asian element.

Sambanju previously spent seven years at Asia Pacific-focussed private equity firm Symphony Capital Partners. Prior to joining Symphony, Sambanju was an associate in Deutsche Bank’s New York M&A group

The two newest locations add to Paul Capital’s existing offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Paris and Toronto.

Paul Capital manages approximately $5 billion (€3.4 billion) across three investment platforms: private equity secondaries, healthcare royalty and revenue interests and venture funds of funds. The firm has been in the secondary private equity market for more than fifteen years.