Pantheon eyes second GP-led secondaries fund

Harriet Matthews
06 September 2022

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

US-headquartered alternative investment firm Pantheon has made a legal filing for Pantheon Secondaries Opportunities Fund II (PSOF II), its second vehicle dedicated to GP-led secondaries deals.

The Luxembourg-domiciled vehicle was registered earlier in September 2022.

Pantheon declined to comment.

Its predecessor vehicle, PSOF I, held a final close in October 2021 on USD 624m, as reported. Pantheon International Plc made a USD 150m commitment to the fund, according to Unquote Data.

The fund is expected to have a larger target than its predecessor but will follow the same strategy.

Pantheon said in a statement issued at the time of the final close of PSOF I that its GP-led secondaries strategy would invest in the full range of GP-led deals, regularly backing complex transactions that necessitate larger ticket sizes.

At the time of the final close of the debut vehicle in the series, Pantheon's Paul Ward told Unquote that the strategy would have a shorter deployment and realisation period than typical private equity funds, with a six-year lifespan and a two-year investment period.

In addition to its dedicated GP-led secondaries funds, Pantheon manages infrastructure, private debt, co-investment and primary strategies. Its other secondaries strategies include its Global Secondary Fund vehicles; the latest vehicle in the series was 15% deployed as of May 2022, according to Unquote Data.

As reported, GP-led secondaries are becoming an increasingly enticing exit option in the current market, with sponsors forming continuation funds to lengthen their holding period while providing liquidity for existing LPs and marking an exit for their own funds.

While the vast majority of secondaries investors are growing the portion of their exposure to GP-led deals in their flagship funds, managers with dedicated GP-led secondaries vehicles include ICG. The GP held a final close for ICG Strategic Equity Fund IV in June 2022 on USD 5bn, making its latest vehicle more than double the size of its 2019-vintage, USD 2.4bn predecessor. Earlier this month, the GP appointed Blackstone's Andrea Serra as head of Europe for the strategy.