Pantheon Global Secondary Fund VI to close in 2020

Katharine Hidalgo
20 January 2020

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Pantheon's latest vehicle, Global Secondary Fund VI, is expected to hold a final close in 2020, Unquote understands.

The fund held a first close in 2019 and is on track to reach its $2bn target across the Global Secondary VI investment platform. This includes raised capital in the institutional fund, other investing entities, and listed investment vehicles. The fund had raised $444m from a US-based feeder vehicle by April 2019, according to an SEC filing.

LPs include existing Pantheon investors London Borough of Croydon Pension Fund, Cheshire County Council Pension Fund (with a commitment of $16m), and the Strathclyde Pension Fund (with a commitment of £75.5m), according to Unquote Data. The vehicle is expected to benefit from the participation of several existing LPs.

Pantheon Global Secondary Fund V closed on $3.5bn in May 2016 and was 67% deployed as of April 2019. LPs in the fund include the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Suffolk County Council Pension Fund and Warburg Invest.

While the new fund has a global focus, it will mostly invest in Europe and North America. The fund will also prioritise GP-led transactions more than the firm has done previously. Fund VI invested in the restructuring of Lyceum Capital III in 2018, which also saw Idinvest, Lombard Odier and HQ Capital invest.

Secondaries frenzy

The secondaries fundraising market has been frothy in recent weeks, culminating in Lexington Partners closing its Lexington Capital Partners IX fund on $14bn. The fund was announced in February 2018 with a $12bn target. It held a first close on $10bn in May 2019 and an interim close on $11.7bn in October 2019. The $14bn close makes it the largest secondaries fund globally.

Other closes have included Hollyport Secondary Opportunities VII, which launched in January 2019 with a target of $750m and closed this month on $1bn. Five Arrows Secondary Opportunities V also held a final close on €1bn following its announcement in March 2019.

Secondaries investors are expected to amass more dry powder this year; Coller International Partners VIII is currently raising towards a $9bn target following an interim close on $4.9bn this month. Hamilton Lane is raising for its Secondary Fund V, which has a target of $3bn.

But it is Ardian that could be vying for the crown of largest player worldwide – the firm launched ASF VIII in July 2018 with a target of $12bn. As of January 2019, the fund had collected $9bn, and press reports have floated the possibility of the target being stretched closer to the $18bn mark.