Ardian closes eighth secondaries mega-fund on $19bn

Launched in July 2018, ASF VIII is the world's largest vehicle dedicated to the secondaries market to date, taking the crown from Lexington Capital Partners IX, which closed on $14bn in January. It intends to provide the necessary liquidity to investors amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

ASF VIII's capital comprises $5bn in co-investment interests.

The fund is larger than its predecessor, ASF VII, which closed on $14bn in April 2016, surpassing its initial target of €9bn.

"In the current environment, the secondaries market has a crucial role to play in providing institutional investors with liquidity," said Vincent Gombault, head of Ardian fund-of-funds. "It is a vital tool for pension funds and investors in how they allocate investments in private equity."

"While this is another significant milestone in the growth of our fund-of-funds platform, more important is how it highlights the continued development of the secondaries market," he added. "It is now a mature market that will only grow in importance for private equity investors in the years to come."

Ardian is a global private investment house with assets of $96bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. Ardian employs more than 680 staff working from 15 offices across Europe, the Americas and Asia, and manages funds on behalf of around 1,000 clients across five asset classes: funds-of-funds, direct private equity funds, infrastructure, real estate and private debt.

Ardian's fund-of-funds platform, which covers both primary and secondary funds-of-funds, now has $53bn in assets under management, with an exposure to more than 10,000 portfolio companies through 1,600 underlying funds.

Investors
The fund attracted 275 investors from nearly 40 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

LPs comprise major pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, high-net-worth individuals and financial institutions.

There was particularly strong growth among Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern investors. This reflected Ardian's increasingly diversified and international client base and its strong relationships across the globe, according to the firm.

The fund's investor base includes, among others, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC; Axa, with an $875m ticket; Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which committed around $500m; Italian insurance company Assicurazioni Generali, with $367m; and pension fund AFP Colombiana Protección, which committed $130m.

Investments
The fund's strategy will focus on purchasing direct stakes in mature private equity funds across Europe and the US, and portfolios of stakes in unlisted companies.

People
Ardian – Vincent Gombault (head of Ardian fund-of-funds).

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