Whitehorse smashes target to hold final close on hard-cap

Whitehorse Liquidity Partners has held the final close on its third fund, less than one year after launching the vehicle.

The Toronto-headquartered preferred equity specialist raised $2 billion for Whitehorse Liquidity Partners Fund III, beating its $1.5 billion target, according to a statement. The fund closed on its hard-cap and was oversubscribed.

The firm had raised $1 billion of third party capital for its 2018-vintage predecessor, according to Secondaries Investor data.

“The increase in the size of Fund III reflects the scale of the market opportunity we have created and are capturing,” Yann Robard, managing partner at Whitehorse, said in the statement. The firm has executed 39 pending or closed transactions representing $3.2 billion since it was founded in 2015.

Whitehorse launched Fund III in the second half of last year, as Secondaries Investor reported in November. The firm raised $402.3 million for its 2016-vintage debut vehicle.

Investors in the fund include insurance companies, public and corporate pension plans, family offices, financial institutions and individual investors. LPs include Maryland State Retirement and Pension System and New York State Common Retirement Fund with $200 million commitments each, and Minnesota State Board of Investment with a $100 million commitment, according to Secondaries Investor data.

Whitehorse employs 38 professionals and plans to make further hires over the next year, according to the statement. Recent hires include Sebastien Siou and Nadeem Kheraj, who joined as senior principal and principal in June, and Josh Booth, who joined as a principal focused on capital raising and investor relations in September.

Kirkland & Ellis provided legal counsel on the fundraise.