NYS Common forms relationship with IK Investment

IK Investment Partners picked up a new limited partner with its latest flagship fund, which reportedly held a first close on 1.3 billion euros ($1.46 billion) this summer.

New York State Common Retirement Fund committed $196 million to IK VIII on Aug. 1, a recent investment disclosure shows. The commitment represented a new relationship for the $178.6 billion pension system.

IK Investment Partners set out to raise 1.6 billion euros for Fund VIII. At that size, New York’s commitment would represent around 11 percent of the vehicle’s committed capital.

NYS Common spokesman Matthew Sweeney declined to say whether the pension obtained discounts on management fees or a seat on the fund’s advisory committee, in exchange for its sizable commitment.

“The NYS CRF seeks to negotiate advantageous terms for all sizable commitments,” he wrote in an email. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is the retirement fund’s sole trustee.

As with previous funds, IK Investment Partners will use Fund VIII to invest in businesses based in Germany, Austria, France and other Western European and Nordic countries.

Fund VII, which held a 1.4 billion euro final close in 2013, generated a 5.9 percent internal rate of return and 1.1x multiple on invested capital through March 31, Minnesota Board of Investment documents show.

The firm’s been relatively active on the deal front since June, purchasing a majority stake in OS Group AB, a Nordic payment solutions company, and partnering with Five Arrows Principal Holdings to acquire I@D Holding, a services platform for French real estate agents.

IK also used the eighth fund to buy Ellab A/S, which makes thermal products for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Action Item: More about IK Investment Partners: www.ikinvest.com

Boats are anchored at the 17th century Nyhavn district, home to many shops and restaurants, in Copenhagen on Dec. 5, 2009. Photo courtesy Reuters/Bob Strong