Japan’s Ant Capital holds final close on LP secondaries fund – exclusive

The firm has hit the target of its Bridge No5-B Private Equity Secondary Investment Fund and launched its latest direct secondaries vehicle.

Ant Capital Partners, one of the few Japan-headquartered firms involved in secondaries, has held the final close on its latest secondaries fund on target.

The Tokyo-based firm amassed ¥15 billion ($135.4 million; €118.6 million) for Bridge No5-B Private Equity Secondary Investment Fund, according to managing partner Takao Akaogi.

Bridge No5-B, which focuses on acquiring limited partnership stakes globally, launched in 2017 and held its first close on around $70 million last February, as Secondaries Investor reported.

The fund’s LP base is solely Japanese and includes financial institutions and corporate pensions, Akaogi said.

The firm has also launched its latest direct secondaries fund and is expecting to hold a first close in March, Akaogi added. The vehicle, Bridge No5-A Private Equity Secondary Investment Fund, has a ¥20 billion target.

Asia sellers accounted for around 10 percent of the $72 billion billion in deal volume last year, according to Evercore’s YE 2018 Secondary Market report. Norinchukin Bank, one of Japan’s largest financial institutions, sold one of the largest portfolios in the last 12 months: around $1.3 billion-worth of private markets stakes to a group led by Lexington Partners, as Secondaries Investor reported.

Ant Capital was established in 2000 and invests in strategies including secondaries, buyouts and venture capital, according to Secondaries Investor data.