Partners Group acquires $648m MLC portfolio

According to The Australian, the deal comes at a time when MLC is looking to cut back its PE allocations and Partners Group is looking to expand its presence in Australia. The sale - one of the largest of its type in the Australian market - is understood to be an opportunistic move to bring MLC allocation back in line with long-term goals.

Australia's superannuation funds have been growing in recent years, but have trimmed private equity exposure over issues such as high fees, high investment thresholds and the illiquid nature of the asset class. Unisuper and Victorian Funds Management Corp are also said to have pulled back on private equity exposure, while the shortfall is largely being met by the likes of Singapore's GIC and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Swiss-based Partners Group - which has EUR30 billion under management across private equity, debt, real estate and infrastructure - recently said it was planning to expand in Australia. It continues have investments in the country in infrastructure, as well as health care, special industrial and food processing. The group has also been working with local super funds to invest in private equity globally, with a specialty in mid-cap markets.

The broader global secondaries market has seen a surge of activity in the past year, driven in part by regulatory reform higher valuations for fund interests, with around $16 billion worthof assets changing hands in the first half of the year, according to Cogent Partners.

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• Topics
• Secondaries
• Australasia
• Secondaries
• Australia
• MLC Private Equity