Whitehorse taps CPPIB for principal hire

Whitehorse Liquidity Partners has poached another investment professional from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Josh Booth joins the Toronto-headquartered preferred equity specialist as a principal focused on capital raising and investor relations, according to a statement. He comes to the job from six years with CPPIB in Toronto and London, most recently as a principal and senior member of the fund’s investment team.

“As we always say, without investors there is no Whitehorse,” said managing partner Yann Robard in the statement. “We hold Josh in high regard and are thrilled that he will be joining Whitehorse. With his expertise and deep relationships in the private equity market, we are confident that he will make an immediate impact to our organisation.”

Whitehorse was formed in 2015 by Robard, CPPIB’s former head of secondaries. Several more have followed from the Canadian pension giant, including Giorgio Riva, who joined Whitehorse in 2017 as a partner, and Sebastien Siou and Nadeem Kheraj, who joined in June as senior principal and principal, respectively, Secondaries Investor reported.

Whitehorse is seeking $1.5 billion for its third vehicle and has raised $1.2 billion so far, according to Secondaries Investor data. Investors in its latest fund include Minnesota State Board of Investment, which committed $100 million, and New York State Common Retirement Fund, which committed $200 million. Fund III is mainly targeting preferred equity investments with the potential to generate gross internal rates of return of 12 to 14 percent.

Whitehorse raised $1.4 billion for its first two funds and has closed or committed to 34 transactions with a value of over $2.7 billion, according to the statement announcing Booth’s appointment.