Permira eyes 6 bln euros for sixth fund: LPs

Permira plans to bring its sixth flagship fund to market in the first quarter targeting up to 6 billion euros ($6.4 billion) with a 7 billion euros hard cap, according to three limited partners who have heard the pitch.

Nothing is set in stone and targets and timing could change, the LPs said. However, London-based Permira has spoken about its plans with multiple LPs as it gears up for its next fundraising.

Nathaniel Garnick, a spokesman for Permira, declined to comment.

Fund V, which closed on 5.3 billion euros last year after almost three years in the market, is more than 60 percent deployed, according to one LP.

Performance in Fund V is not yet meaningful as the fund is in the early part of its J-curve. As of March 31, the fund generated a net -16.7 percent internal rate of return and a 0.9x multiple, according to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, a Fund V investor.

Fund IV, which closed on 9.6 billion euros in 2006, generated a 6.5 percent net IRR and a 1.3x multiple as of March 31, according to CalPERS. That fund invested into the teeth of the Global Financial Crisis and has gradually recovered from early lows.

Permira in November agreed to sell health products company Pharmaq to Zoetis Inc for $765 million on a debt-free basis. Permira generated a 3.2x return on the sale, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

That same month, a consortium comprised of Permira-backed companies plus Sterling Partners, Longview Asset Management and Sterling Partners-backed Innotrac Corp closed the acquisition of eBay’s enterprise unit for $925 million.

Permira is led by co-Managing Partners Kurt Björklund and Tom Lister.

Action Item: See Permira’s most recent annual report here: http://bit.ly/1X552G2

Photo: Tom Lister, co-managing partner of Permira, speaks at the Global Hedge Fund and Private Equity Summit in New York April 11, 2007. REUTERS/Eric Thayer