Q3 secondaries fundraising hits second-biggest high

Secondaries funds raised a shade less in the third quarter of this year than the record collected in Q3 2017, according to PEI data.

The five secondaries funds that reached final close in the third quarter raised a combined $10.75 billion. Last year, seven funds combined for $10.98 billion, amounting to the highest third-quarter haul.

The largest fund to hold its final close in Q3 was Landmark Equity Partners XVI, which raised $7 billion including co-investment capital against an initial target of $4 billion, as Secondaries Investor reported on Thursday. The fund has already committed $2.8 billion across 17 secondaries deals, according to chairman and managing partner Francisco Borges.

Second largest was Pomona Capital IX, which raised $1.8 billion against a target of $1.7 billion in early September. Whitehorse Liquidity Partners, Northleaf Capital Partners and EQ Group rounded off the list.

“These figures show demand remains extremely robust for secondary funds, with high quality mid-sized and recently established funds securing strong demand even in the context of several of the largest funds being in market with targets at or above $10bn each,” Jonathan Abecassis, head of EMEA secondaries advisory at Credit Suisse.

“Given the strong fund raising environment, dedicated secondary dry powder is at an all-time high and we expect this to continue to fuel competition among secondary investors,” added Sabina Sammartino, head of Mercury Capital Advisors’ secondaries advisory team.