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Law360 (June 2, 2020, 10:29 AM EDT) -- Ardian has wrapped up its eighth secondaries vehicle after collecting $19 billion, saying Tuesday that the market for buying existing interests in other investment vehicles represents an opportunity to provide investors with liquidity as they grapple with economic disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The French private equity firm secured capital from 275 total investors across 40 countries, including in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, according to a statement. The investor base includes pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and financial institutions, among others. Of the $19 billion, there is $5 billion worth of co-investment interests.
The new fund significantly surpassed the firm's previous secondaries fund, which closed at $14 billion back in 2016. Ardian said the new fund received so much interest because investors are seeking to rebalance their private equity portfolios as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on.
"In the current environment, the secondaries market has a crucial role to play in providing institutional investors with liquidity," said Vincent Gombault, a member of the Ardian executive committee and head of the firm's fund of funds group. "It is a vital tool for pension funds and investors in how they allocate investments in private equity."
Gombault added that, in addition to serving as a "significant milestone" for Ardian, the new fund reaffirms the rise of secondaries as an area where investors want to put their money.
Indeed, there were two secondaries funds among the 10 largest private investment vehicles that closed during the first quarter of this year: Intermediate Capital Group Inc.'s ICG Strategic Equity Fund III, which closed in late January with $2.4 billion in tow, and Lexington Partners' Lexington Capital Partners IX, which was the largest fund of the first quarter with $14 billion in capital commitments.
"[Secondaries] is now a mature market which will only grow in importance for private equity investors in the years to come," Gombault said.
Ardian has not allowed the pandemic to stop it from raising money, nor has it had as major of an effect on the firm's ability to wheel and deal as felt by many other companies during this period of market uncertainty. The firm and its portfolio companies inked multiple transactions in May, the acquisition of a majority stake in Swissbit Holding AG, according to a mid-May statement. Swissbit makes storage technology for the Internet of Things market, which is the term for household items, automobiles and other products used by people on a daily basis that are connected to the internet.
In late April, meanwhile, Ardian agreed to take a minority stake in Euro4x4parts Group, which makes spare parts, equipment and accessories for off-road vehicles.
The closing of the new fund comes only a few months after Ardian clinched a €3 billion ($3.3 billion) private debt fund that provides financing to middle-market companies across Europe. That fund was announced in late January.
Legal counsel information was not immediately available, and a representative for Ardian did not immediately respond to a request for further information.
--Editing by Katherine Rautenberg.
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