Whitehorse closes in on hard-cap

Whitehorse Liquidity Partners is edging closer to the $1 billion hard-cap on its second preferred equity fund.

The Toronto-based firm has raised $836.35 million for Whitehorse Liquidity Partners II, $229.8 million of which came through an offshore vehicle, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The fund has attracted commitments from 53 investors, the filing noted.

Whitehorse declined to comment.

Fund II launched in January with a $750 million target and held a $730 million close in February, Secondaries Investor reported. Investors include Alaska Permanent Fund, which committed $50 million.

The firm’s debut fund, Whitehorse Liquidity Partners I, hit its $400 million hard-cap in May. The fund was oversubscribed within six months of launching, Secondaries Investor reported.

Whitehorse was founded by former Canada Pension Plan Investment Board secondaries head Yann Robard. The firm targets preferred equity investments in private equity portfolios on the secondaries market, making transactions with institutional investors wanting to exit their fund stakes, funds of funds wanting to create distributions for their limited partners and secondaries buyers interested in financing portfolio purchases.

A survey published in February by 17Capital, whose latest fund raised €1.2 billion for preferred equity investments, found that 67 percent of LPs have used or would consider using an alternative to the secondaries market, such as preferred equity or debt tranches.