IMF Bentham launches US$500m dispute resolution finance fund
IMF Bentham has announced the launch of its new US$500 million fund (Fund 5) which will invest in the non-US dispute resolution finance sector, which is on the rise across Asia, Canada and the EMEA region.
The company said that in those markets this sector was still relatively new but had the potential to become a mainstream global financial product.
Fund 5, which would be IMF’s second non-US fund, would focus on providing finance for law firms, companies, groups and individuals across a broad range of dispute types including insolvencies, group actions, international arbitration and commercial litigation.
The company committed US$ 100 million in cash to the fund while the remaining funds would come from external contributors, which included Partners Capital and funds managed by IMHarvard Managemetn Company, Amitell Capital and Balmoral Wood, it said.
IMF’s managing director and chief executive, Andrew Saker, said: “Demand for dispute resolution finance is growing as a result of increased awareness, the increasing costs of arbitration and litigation and regulatory changes in some jurisdictions which now allow parties to seek dispute resolution finance.
“Demand is particularly strong in Asia and Canada where dispute resolution finance is still relatively new but it is becoming a mainstream global financial product.”
Additionally, investors would have the option to roll into a successor fund on the same terms, to increase the overall new capital commitments to US$1 billion.
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