Firms & Funds

Aberdeen builds group to buy minority stakes in GPs

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Workers install a roof on a multi-family building in Broomfield, Colorado February 19, 2014. U.S. housing starts recorded their biggest drop in almost three years in January as harsh weather disrupted activity, but the third month of declines in permits hinted at some weakness in the housing market. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS)
  • Firm: Bonaccord Capital Partners
  • Fund: Bonaccord Capital Partners I-A
  • Target: $1 bln
  • Amount Raised: N/A
  • Placement Agent: Eaton Partners

Aberdeen Asset Management brought on a team from Guggenheim Partners to run a strategy buying minority stakes in alternative-asset managers.

The group, Bonaccord Capital Partners, is in market targeting $1 billion for its debut fund, according to sources and a Form D fundraising filing.

How much Fund I has raised so far is unclear. Eaton Partners is listed on the Form D as placement agent.

Bonaccord executives include Ajay Chitkara, Farhad Dehesh and Bradford Pilcher, who joined Aberdeen from Guggenheim last year.

Another Bonaccord exec: Charles Korchinski, according to the Form D. Korchinski’s LinkedIn profile lists him as a senior investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management.

Bonaccord is joining a host of other firms that have raised money to buy stakes in private equity firms. Bonaccord’s mandate seems to be alternative-asset managers, so the focus likely goes beyond PE.

Some of the biggest players in this market are Dyal Capital Partners, a group within Neuberger Berman. Dyal is in market raising its fourth fund, targeting $5 billion with no hard cap. Goldman Sachs also is on the hunt for GP minority stakes, as is Blackstone Group.

There also are startups in market like Bonaccord: Magnetar Capital hired Tom Morgan from Hycroft to search for opportunities to buy GP minority stakes. Morgan joined Magnetar in December as head of strategic capital, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In April, Dyal bought a less than 10 percent stake in Vector Capital’s management company, Buyouts reported. Vector will use the investment to fuel the growth of its credit business.

Action Item: Check out Bonaccord’s Form D filing here: https://bit.ly/2wkUhyf

Workers install a roof on a multifamily building in Broomfield, Colorado, on Feb. 19, 2014. Photo courtesy Reuters/Rick Wilking