CVC Capital Partners’ secondary buyout specialist Glendower Capital has raised $5.8 billion for its latest fund.
(Bloomberg) — CVC Capital Partners’ secondary buyout specialist Glendower Capital has raised $5.8 billion for its latest fund.
The firm closed Glendower Capital Secondary Opportunities Fund V at its hard cap, according to a statement Monday. It’s the first fund Glendower has raised since agreeing to be acquired by CVC in 2021.
London-based Glendower uses its money to buy existing portfolios of private equity fund holdings. The market for such deals has evolved as a way for buyout firms and their investors to rebalance allocations and draw on cash when needed.
The Glendower takeover also gave CVC a new strategy to lure investors and generate more recurring management fees.
Glendower’s latest fund is more than double the size of its $2.7 billion predecessor raised in 2019. It attracted money from over 230 new and returning investors, according to Monday’s statement.
“There’s a very good opportunity set, the secondary market has been trading pretty much at over $100 billion now for three or four years in a row,” Carlo Pirzio-Biroli, Glendower’s chief executive officer said in an interview.
While the secondary market is dominated by investors adjusting their exposure to private equity in a stressful macroeconomic environment, it’s also helped by the emergence of so-called continuation vehicles that allow buyout firms to own a business beyond the typical holding period.
“The stigma which was associated with selling in the secondary market many years ago has gone away, it’s now mostly about active portfolio management,” Pirzio-Biroli said.
Glendower’s new fund comes after Bloomberg reported earlier this month that CVC had defied a challenging fundraising environment to gather €26 billion ($28.7 billion) for the world’s biggest-ever buyout vehicle.
CVC has been considering plans for an initial public offering and the successful fundraisings may further bolster its case for such a move.
(Updates with Glendower CEO comments from sixth paragraph.)
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