Goldman places a $ 5 million investment in Petershill’s private equity assets

LONDON, Sept. 6 (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs (GS.N) plans to float the assets of its Petershill Partners unit, hoping to cash in on a private equity boom with a stock market valuation of the vehicle. investment of more than $ 5 billion.

Petershill, which holds minority stakes in alternative asset managers, including private equity, venture capital and hedge funds, will be an independent company operated by Goldman Sachs ’asset management team, it said Monday.

The deal will consist of a sale of about $ 750 million in new shares, as well as existing ones, to give Petershill a free float of at least 25% and make it eligible to be included in the FTSE indices.

Goldman Sachs declined to give an estimated market value for the unit, but a source close to the deal said analysts exceeded $ 5 billion.

The listing is expected to be done in about a month from now, the source said.

The US bank chose London because the Petershill list was founded in the British capital and because the vibrant capital markets of the financial center offer a strong fundraising opportunity, the source added.

The London Stock Exchange has had a strong period of initial public offerings (IPOs) during the first half of this year, with new companies reaching $ 12.70 billion during the first seven months of 2021, the highest in seven years, according to data from Refinitiv.

PE BOOM

Private equity funds have increased in value over the past year as money is invested from investors looking for higher returns when interest rates are so low.

In July, British buying firm Bridgepoint was listed in London, with its shares now more than 40% of its starting price, while French partners Antin Infrastructure Partners launched their own IPO last week.

For investors, these companies offer attractive coverage against the traditional stock and bond markets and give them access to the private settlement activity, which has exploded in recent years.

“The environment is pretty fortuitous on private equity right now, especially with rates that seem to stay lower for longer,” said Susannah Streeter, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“PE companies have also been attacking UK assets and there could be a real interest in taking this action without taking the risk individually,” he added.

Petershill’s business leverages its relationship with Goldman Sachs to make attractive acquisitions in alternative asset management.

Petershill’s profits will go to its institutional investors, while Goldman Sachs will charge an operator commission for the management of the company.

Petershill has no fixed assets but holds positions in 19 alternative asset managers with combined assets under management of $ 187 billion.

He pushed his investment strategy to focus on technology in 2017 and is now moving to focus on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by investing in areas such as health, balance sheet repair and the environment, social and governance (ESG).

Report by Lawrence White; Edited by Edmund Blair and Alexander Smith

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