Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investment products headquartered in Bahrain, said it has signed a secondary transaction agreement with UK-based Coller Capital in relation to a number of assets from its European private equity portfolio under a new fund arrangement, subject to receipt of relevant regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

Coller Capital, founded in 1990, is one of the world's leading investors in private equity's secondary market – widely acknowledged as an innovator and a stand-out player at the complex end of secondaries.  

The fund will be capitalised with approximately $1 billion of aggregate commitments, said a statement from Investcorp.

The British group’s current fund, Coller International Partners VII, will underwrite the new fund, with Investcorp retaining a continued interest in the portfolio through a meaningful GP commitment to the fund, it stated.

The transaction also includes fresh capital for any follow-on investments, future investments and co-investments, it added.

Investcorp said its European Private Equity team would manage both the assets acquired through the secondary transaction and the fund’s new capital, as it continues to invest in mid-market buyout transactions across Europe.

This transaction, when closed, will provide relevant existing investors with immediate liquidity for some of their exposures as well as an opportunity for Investcorp to seek to further create value through active management and additional capital that is being made available under the transaction.  

According to Investcorp, this transaction is a further key milestone in its ambitious growth strategy to reach $50 billion of AUM (assets under management) over the medium term.

The deal follows Investcorp’s acquisition in 2017 of a $11 billion AUM credit management business, Investcorp Credit Management, and last year, a strategic minority investment in Banque Paris Bertrand, an independent Swiss-regulated private bank based in Geneva.

Mohammed Alardhi, the executive chairman of Investcorp, said: "The signing of this landmark transaction in the secondary private equity market is the latest step in our global growth strategy. It demonstrates the continued desire by institutional investors to back Investcorp’s investment platform."

"We look forward, at closing, to welcoming Coller Capital to the distinguished list of global institutions who partner with us and to working with them in the coming years to maximise the value of the portfolio," he added.

Jeremy Coller, the chief information officer of Coller Capital, said: "This transaction springs from a relationship of many years’ standing. It is a complex investment, of strategic importance to Investcorp, and we’re delighted to be their chosen partner."
 
With headquarters in London, and offices in New York and Hong Kong, Coller’s multinational investment team has a truly global reach.

In December 2015, the firm closed Coller International Partners VII, with capital commitments of $7.15 billion and backing from approximately 170 of the world’s leading institutional investors, it added.-TradeArabia News Service