Seligman closes sophomore secondaries fund – updated

Seligman Private Equity has held the final close on its sophomore dedicated secondaries fund, which is more than 40 percent committed.

The Europe-focused private equity firm has collected €80 million across European Secondary Opportunities II and a separate managed account, according to a statement obtained exclusively by Secondaries Investor.

“We will continue to nurture our relationships with general partners in the buyout, growth capital and venture capital communities and have no doubt that the vibrancy of Europe’s venture markets will continue to lead to exciting opportunities for us to invest in some of Europe’s fastest-growing companies,” said David Seligman, the firm’s founder.

A “considerable number” of new investors – including family offices and private equity professionals in Europe and the US  – committed to the fund, Seligman said. The European market for small secondaries opportunities – typically below €10 million in deal size – is still relatively inefficient and opaque and investors were attracted to this, he added.

Fund II, which delivered a 1.6x return multiple as of 31 December, will also invest in structured secondaries deals that involve working with general partners to provide additional financing and secondaries capital for growth companies.

The fund launched in November 2014 and was seeking as much as €125 million, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. A spokesman for Seligman said the fund’s target was €75 million and the hard-cap was €125 million.

The firm’s debut dedicated secondaries fund is a 2010-vintage vehicle that was seeking as much as €50 million, according to PEI data. Fund I has made 18 realisations and delivered 2.5x cost as of mid-April, according to the statement.

Seligman Private Equity Select was established in 2003 and has three staff, according to its website.

– This story has been updated to show €125 million was the fund’s hard-cap.