Standard Life caps exposure to Permira IV in restructuring

Standard Life European Private Equity Trust (SEP) has taken up the offer to cap commitments to Permira IV as part of a wider restructuring, which has also seen the group sell two of its other partnership interests.

SEP made a £30.3m commitment to Permira's then record-breaking fund in 2006, which has now been reduced to £19.4m. Under the terms of the agreement, SEP will have its entitlements to distributions reduced by up to 25%, with these profits being awarded to those LPs that declined the offer and continue to meet future capital calls.

Permira announced in December that 10% of investors in the fund had taken up the offer to cap commitments at 60%, which effectively reduced the size of the fund from its original EUR11.1bn to EUR9.6bn.

SEP has also sold its interests in BC European VII and Towerbrook Investors III for an aggregated £7.5m to unnamed private equity investors. It has been reported that the decision was made due to lower realisations in the European market as part of a strategy to manage SEP's diversification and the quantum of its outstanding commitments. SEP has said it is also in discussions regarding the potential disposal of other investments.

In the year to the end of September 2008 SEP made unrealised losses of £42.8m, compared to unrealised gains of £5.1m the previous year. The firm's debt position has also risen from no debt in September 2007 to £39.4m in September 2008, while the cash position has decreased, leaving SEP with new debt of £36.4m at the end of September 2008 compared to funds of £7.6m in September 2007.

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