Whitehorse wraps up third fund

Toronto-based private equity firm Whitehorse Liquidity Partners has closed its third fund at a hard cap of US$2 billion. The fund’s investors include insurance companies, public and corporate pension plans, family offices, financial institutions and individual investors. Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel for Whitehorse on the fund. In August 2018, Whitehorse raised US$1 billion for its second fund.

PRESS RELEASE

TORONTO, October 15, 2019 – Whitehorse Liquidity Partners (“Whitehorse”), a specialized investment manager focused on providing structured liquidity solutions to the alternative asset class, today announced a successful final close for Whitehorse Liquidity Partners Fund III (“Fund III”) at its US$2.0 billion hard cap. This is in excess of its US$1.5 billion target and double Whitehorse’s US$1.0 billion Fund II, which closed in August 2018.

Whitehorse’s diversified investor base is comprised of leading insurance companies, public and corporate pension plans, family offices, financial institutions and individual investors.

Yann Robard, Managing Partner of Whitehorse, said, “We are pleased to announce the final closing of Fund III at our hard cap of US$2.0 billion. We remain grateful for the confidence, conviction and support provided to us by our investors. Without investors, there would be no Whitehorse. The increase in the size of Fund III reflects the scale of the market opportunity we have created and are capturing. Whitehorse’s partnership-based approach has resulted in rapid market adoption and a significant and growing pipeline of opportunities. We have executed on 39 pending or closed transactions representing US$3.2 billion since establishing Whitehorse in August 2015. We remain committed to scaling successfully through measured growth of our organization. Our team has grown to 38 people and counting as we seek to plan for rather than react to complexity.”

With regards to the fundraise, Michael Gubbels, Partner of Whitehorse, said, “Fund III was oversubscribed and completed its final closing less than a year from its launch. We attribute the speed and success of our Fund III fundraise to the continued support of our existing investor base and the conviction of investors who are new to Whitehorse. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our investors for their belief in Whitehorse.”

With regards to the market opportunity, Giorgio Riva, Partner of Whitehorse, added, “Whitehorse’s traction in the private equity market is the result of our focus on offering nimble, customized and aligned liquidity solutions and finding the win-win in all that we do. Our innovative and flexible approach has been additive to the secondary market, offering a differentiated means of accelerating liquidity for the alternative asset class.”

With regards to the growth of the team, Rob Gavin, Partner of Whitehorse said, “To effectively capture the growing market opportunity, we have continued to expand our team. The Whitehorse team is currently comprised of 38 professionals across Whitehorse’s three core functions – Capital Management, Firm Management and Asset Management – and we anticipate adding more talent in the coming year.”

Sean Connor, Chief Financial Officer and Partner of Whitehorse, added, “In the last year alone, Whitehorse has nearly doubled the size of its operations team to support the growth in the business. Through hiring a team of talented, specialized professionals, we have built an institutionalized operations department.”

Leah Boyd, General Counsel of Whitehorse, added, “We are proud of the exceptional team that we continue to build at Whitehorse and thankful to everyone for their dedication and hard work. Likewise, we are grateful for the strong support of our limited partners and focused on continuing to come through on our commitments to them.”

Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel for Whitehorse and Fund III.

About Whitehorse Liquidity Partners
Whitehorse Liquidity Partners is a private equity firm focused on providing structured liquidity solutions to the alternative asset class. Whitehorse has identified what it believes is a significant and untapped market opportunity in the utilization of structured products to generate liquidity on private equity portfolios. Whitehorse was formed in 2015 and seeks to provide customized and flexible liquidity solutions for private equity investors. Whitehorse has raised US$3.4 billion in committed capital across three funds and has closed or committed to 39 transactions with a value of over US$3.2 billion. For more information, please visit www.whitehorseliquidity.com.