PE Deals

GIC, perennial seller, set to shop another billion-dollar PE portfolio

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GIC, Singapore, private equity, merger, m&a, secondary investment
Visitors take photos in front of the Merlion, in downtown Singapore on Aug. 4, 2017. Reuters/Kevin Lam
  • GIC sold $2 bln portfolio last year
  • Numerous large institutions selling in busy market
  • Total deal volume broke all records in 2018

Singapore’s state fund, GIC, is shopping a portfolio of private equity fund interests valued at about $1 billion, sources told Buyouts.

GIC is one of numerous large institutions selling PE portfolios on the market since last year. Others include Florida SBA, LACERA, Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Such sales helped drive secondary volume in 2018 to levels never before seen — more than $70 billion, according to at least three secondary intermediaries.

“The market we’re in is just booming,” a secondary-market buyer said.

GIC retained Park Hill Group to run the sales process, which will likely attract the largest secondary buyers in the market, sources said.

The process is said to have just started and it’s not clear if it’s officially on the market or about to go live. Jennifer Lewis, a spokeswoman for GIC, did not respond to a request for comment.

GIC last year sold a PE of portfolio stakes valued at about $2 billion, Buyouts reported. Goldman Sachs emerged as the buyer of that portfolio, according to Secondaries Investor in July.

Why GIC has been such a prolific seller is unclear; perhaps it’s simply rebalancing its portfolio, or some larger, strategic shift is happening.

GIC’s exposure to PE stood at 11 percent as of March 31, 2018. That was up from 9 percent a year earlier.

GIC has staffed up to compete directly for deals. It also established a secondaries group that is a prolific investor in direct secondary deals like restructurings of older funds.

In fact, GIC along with Goldman Sachs restructured two older Vector Capital funds, Buyouts reported in January 2018. That deal involved Vector’s second and third funds, along with co-investments.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated LACERS was exploring secondary sales since last year. It should have said LACERA. The report has been updated. 

Action Item: Check out GIC’s 2017/2018 annual report: https://bit.ly/2tibioA