StepStone has emerged as lead buyer in the GP-led process on L Catterton‘s 2009-vintage Asian fund, five months after Secondaries Investor first reported the firm was exploring a transaction.
The New York-headquartered investment advisor and investor is set to back the transaction involving the $637 million L Capital Asia fund, according to two sources with knowledge of the deal.
The process is understood to give L Catterton more time to manage its remaining assets. A large proportion of limited partners in the fund are understood to be high-net-worth individuals.
The process is being run by advisor Evercore and is near to completion, Secondaries Investor understands.
The size of the deal and identities of the other buyers are unclear.
L Capital Asia closed short of its $1 billion target in 2010, according to PEI data. It was the first of two Asia-focused vehicles raised by L Capital, the European and Asian private equity operations of luxury fashion house LVMH and family-owned holding company Groupe Arnault.
In 2016 L Capital and sister entity L Real Estate merged with Catterton Partners, a North American and Latin American private equity firm, to create L Catterton. The firm is 60 percent owned by its partners and 40 percent jointly owned by LVMH and Groupe Arnault.
L Catterton is in market with its third pan-Asian buyout fund seeking $1.25 billion, according to PEI data. It had raised $844 million as of June.
It is not clear if the deal contains a stapled component.
StepStone Secondary Opportunities Fund III closed in June last year on $950 million, above its $750 million target, Secondaries Investor reported. The fund is more than double the size of its predecessor, according to PEI data.
L Catterton declined to comment. Evercore did not return a request for comment.
– Adam Le contributed to this report.
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