Unigestion Private Equity raises direct and secondary funds

Geneva — Uniges­tion, the inde­pen­dent specia­li­zed asset mana­ger, comple­ted the third closing of its private equity direct fund Uniges­tion Direct II in May, brin­ging the total size of the fund to 375 million euros.

The final target figure is 600 million euros. In June, the fund also comple­ted its second invest­ment. In addi­tion, the first closing of the secon­dary fund Uniges­tion Secon­dary V, with a total volume of EUR 228 million (EUR 700 million final target volume), took place on June 10.

The success of these deals reflects inves­tors’ appe­tite for expo­sure to direct and secon­dary market tran­sac­tions in small and mid-sized compa­nies in the private equity market in the current econo­mic environment.

As the impact of the COVID-19 pande­mic is felt in finan­cial markets, Uniges­tion anti­ci­pa­tes a growing number of attrac­tive oppor­tu­ni­ties going forward, as a result of lower valua­tions, limi­ted avai­la­bi­lity of debt capi­tal and an increase in poten­tial sellers.

Both funds conti­nue to attract well-known inves­tors from North America, Austra­lia and Europe, inclu­ding pres­ti­gious corpo­ra­ti­ons, pension funds and high net worth investors.

Uniges­tion Direct II
Uniges­tion Direct II’s stra­tegy is to build a port­fo­lio of direct invest­ments in small and medium-sized compa­nies in sectors whose growth is driven by long-term trends. The fund invests in compa­nies that are resi­li­ent on their own merits thanks to their strong market posi­tio­ning, manage­ment and finan­cial strength. This gives inves­tors expo­sure to a port­fo­lio of robust compa­nies that are able to execute their growth plans regard­less of market conditions.

With more than 20 years of direct invest­ment expe­ri­ence, Uniges­tion parti­ci­pa­tes in tran­sac­tions as both a co-signer and co-initia­­tor/initia­­tor, toge­ther with fund mana­gers specia­li­zing in small and mid-sized compa­nies and other invest­ment part­ners in Europe, North America and Asia. Uniges­tion takes an active role during due dili­gence and is able to create favorable tran­sac­tion condi­ti­ons in most cases.

With a global team of 40 private equity profes­sio­nals, Uniges­tion sources direct invest­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties from its network of more than 500 invest­ment part­ners, inclu­ding specia­li­zed fund mana­gers, spon­sors and other indus­try experts, as well as directly from busi­ness owners.

Uniges­tion Secon­dary V
Uniges­tion Secon­dary V invests in small, non-auction secon­dary market tran­sac­tions with a volume of less than EUR 50 million, focu­sing on port­fo­lios of high-quality compa­nies with attrac­tive valua­tions. With more than two deca­des of expe­ri­ence, Uniges­tion is one of the pioneers in the global secon­dary market. The exper­tise includes, in parti­cu­lar, custo­mi­zed and often more complex liqui­dity solutions.

Uniges­tion acqui­res secon­dary market tran­sac­tions from its broad network of Gene­ral Part­ners (GPs), Limi­ted Part­ners, Small Inter­me­dia­ries and selec­ted specia­li­zed Secon­dary Direct Mana­gers. Unigestion’s exten­sive expe­ri­ence in the global small and mid-cap market gives it access to tran­sac­tions outside the hunting grounds of other secon­dary inves­tors. As such, Uniges­tion is able to offer a port­fo­lio of secon­dary market tran­sac­tions that are typi­cally uncor­re­la­ted to the broa­der secon­dary market.

Uniges­tion follows a thorough due dili­gence process, which is why the focus is on port­fo­lios of compa­nies with solid busi­ness models and clear exit oppor­tu­ni­ties. Conse­quently, returns are deter­mi­ned by future company perfor­mance and are not depen­dent on leverage or discounts.

“These fund closures are a testa­ment to our long track record of inves­t­ing in small and mid-sized compa­nies. We focus on small and medium-sized compa­nies opera­ting in attrac­tive sectors where growth is not depen­dent on macroe­co­no­mic condi­ti­ons. Ther­e­fore, we are convin­ced that we will bene­fit from the oppor­tu­ni­ties arising from the excep­tio­nal condi­ti­ons we are curr­ently expe­ri­en­cing,” says Chris­to­phe De Dardel, Head of Private Equity at Uniges­tion.