News & Analysis

Schroder Adveq picks up Partners tail-ends

The stakes were sold by a mature fund of funds vehicle and were in vehicles managed by EQT, BC Partners and other big names.

-

Partners Group has sold a portfolio of mature funds stakes to Schroder Adveq.

The Zug-headquartered firm offloaded stakes in funds managed by BC Partners, Montagu Private Equity, Graphite Capital and EQT to Schroder Adveq, according to a series of UK public filings. The interests were held in Partners Group European Buyout 2005 (A), a €368 million fund of funds vehicle that closed in October 2006.

The underlying fund stakes were:

  • The 2006-vintage, €4.25 billion EQT V;
  • The 2005-vintage, €5.5 billion BC European Capital VIII;
  • The 2006-vintage, €2.26 billion Montagu III;
  • The 2007-vintage, £475 million ($601 million; €527.5) Graphite Capital Partners VII.

Schroder Adveq bought the stakes with Adveq Secondaries III, which closed above target in April 2018 on €270.91 million, according to PEI data.

The fund specialises in small single-line deals and tail-end portfolios, though in recent years has started to look more at GP-led restructurings and direct secondaries opportunities.

In October last year the firm acquired a bundle of tail-end stakes in UK private equity funds such as Doughty Hanson Hanson IV and V, and Vision Capital Partners VI from various European sellers.

Adveq was acquired by London-headquartered Schroders in a deal completed in July 2017.

Funds of funds, which includes secondaries funds, accounted for 19 percent of sellers by number in the first half of 2018, as they look to take advantage of a healthy pricing environment, according to research by Greenhill.

Montagu and EQT did not wish to comment. Partners Group, Graphite Capital, Schroder Adveq and BC Partners did not return a request for comment.