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HarbourVest and AlpInvest Complete Secondary Transaction in Germany
BOSTON and LONDON — 22 February 2006 — HarbourVest Partners, LLC, a leading global private equity investment firm, and AlpInvest Partners, a global private equity investment manager, today announced the completion of a secondary transaction involving the establishment of a new fund, Paragon Partners Secondary LP. As a result of the transaction, Paragon Partners acquired an existing portfolio of three European companies providing a comprehensive exit solution to Afinum, an independent German private equity fund manager.The first significant deal of its kind in Germany, this transaction provides Paragon Partners with the capacity to provide follow-on capital to the portfolio companies, and also to pursue further transactions of this type. Together, HarbourVest and AlpInvest have made initial commitments totaling €47 million to the Paragon Partners Secondary LP fund. The fund is advised by Paragon Partners GmbH.
"Partnering with AlpInvest, we have provided Paragon Partners with the platform to build a business focused on acquiring portfolios of direct private equity assets," said Peter Wilson, managing director at HarbourVest. "The participation in this transaction marks the first of its kind in Germany, and we hope to see more opportunities like this in the future."
"Through our commitment, we have enabled Paragon to acquire an attractive portfolio of secondary direct assets, which have significant additional growth potential. The transaction provided Afinum and its investors with a tailored exit solution for a portfolio of tail-end investments," said Volkert Doeksen, Managing Partner and CEO at AlpInvest Partners. "We believe that the market for secondary direct assets is an attractive growth segment in the secondary market, and we will continue to pro-actively target this segment."
"We are excited about the quality of the portfolio that we have acquired and are looking forward to working with management to unlock the significant value we see in all of the businesses. HarbourVest and AlpInvest have proven to be invaluable partners in this transaction. We believe that this is a milestone transaction for the German secondary direct market, paving the way for private equity firms to realize value in their portfolios efficiently," said Edin Hadzic, one of the three founding partners at Paragon.
About AlpInvest Partners
AlpInvest Partners is one of the largest private equity investors in the world with over EUR 30 billion of assets under management including the new EUR 11 billion mandate. Approximately 80% of these funds will be committed by AlpInvest Partners to private equity funds. The remainder will be invested directly in companies as a co-investor in Europe and the USA.
As a Fund investor AlpInvest has committed (under its current mandate) to more than 150 funds in Europe, the USA and the Rest of the World including Asia and Latin America. As an investor in Secondary Investments AlpInvest was lead investor in two of the largest Secondary transactions to date: EUR 1.5 billion Deutsche Bank/MidOcean Partners in 2003 and EUR 1.2 billion Dayton Power and Light Company transaction in 2005. AlpInvest also invests directly in companies as a co-investor in Europe and the USA. AlpInvest Partners has approximately 55 investment professionals based in Amsterdam and New York. AlpInvest Partners’ shareholders and main clients are ABP and PGGM, two of the largest pension funds in the world with respectively EUR 187 billion and EUR 69 billion of assets under management (as per September 2005). To learn more about AlpInvest Partners visit http://www.alpinvest.com/.
About Paragon Partners GmbH
Paragon Partners is an independent private equity investment firm. Paragon was founded in 2004 by Edin Hadzic, Krischan von Moeller and Stefan Winterling and specializes in secondary direct investments in the mid-cap buyout market. Paragon acquires and actively manages controlling stakes in companies currently held by private equity funds or strategic investors who may be looking to divest a fund or a particular portfolio of businesses. The targeted operating companies are headquartered in Europe, preferably in German-speaking countries. Paragon is based in Munich (Germany) and run by its three founding partners. Further information is available at http://www.paragon-partners.de/.
About HarbourVest
HarbourVest Partners, LLC is an independent global private equity investment firm and an SEC registered investment advisor, providing vehicles for institutional investors to invest in the venture capital and buyout markets in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere through primary partnerships, secondary purchases, and direct investments. HarbourVest and its subsidiaries have 147 employees, including 58 investment professionals, deployed in Boston, London, and Hong Kong. In 25 years of investing in private equity, the team has committed more than $10.8 billion to newly formed funds, representing relationships with 200 private equity managers. The team has also completed over $3.4 billion in purchases of 460 secondary partnership interests, and invested $2.5 billion directly in operating companies. The firm's clients consist of 240 institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments, foundations, and financial institutions, throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan. To learn more about HarbourVest visit http://www.harbourvest.com/. This communication has been approved for issue in the United Kingdom by HarbourVest Partners (U.K.) Limited, which is regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
Contact information for AlpInvest Partners N.V.:
Volkert Doeksen, Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +31 (0)20 540 7520
Frans Wierstra, Company Secretary
Tel: +31 (0)20 540 7524