Aliante Partners secures preferred equity with Pomona

Pomona Capital was the sole investor in the transaction, which included a liquidity option for LPs in the fund and a second preferred equity line for add-on acquisitions by the portfolio companies.

Aliante is an Italian buyout investor founded in 2006. According to its website, it has generated a 1.9x money on invested capital return and 16.7% IRR to date. The Aliante Equity 3 vehicle closed on €110m in 2014; it invests in mid-market companies operating in the Made In Italy sectors, including food, beverages, design and furniture. The firm said it has a particular focus on buy-and-build to create value through consolidation in Europe and North America.

Aliante is gearing up for the launch of the fund's successor, Aliante Equity 4, according to a source close to the situation.

Cebile Capital was the sole financial adviser in the transaction. Chiomenti acted as legal counsel for Aliante, while Proskauer and Legance acted as legal counsel for Pomona.

Pomona Capital IX held a first close on $850m in April 2017 and a final close in September 2018 on its hard-cap of $1.8bn. The vehicle makes secondary purchases globally in private equity funds and portfolios.

Pomona Capital X was launched in April 2020 with a target of $2bn, according to Unquote Data. A first close was expected to be held in the second half of 2020, although no further updates have come to light since.

Previously popular with secondaries funds, preferred equity enjoyed a significant boost in popularity for buyout vehicles following the coronavirus outbreak, Unquote reported last year. Portfolio finance provider 17Capital recently arranged a facility for investment manager Investcorp, in turn getting exposure to a diversified portfolio of underlying assets. The firm also provided a £125m preferred equity facility to Exponent Private Equity Partners III last July, as reported.

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