Perennial’s Private to Public Opportunities fund No.2 fund (PPP2) has closed its capital raising fully subscribed, raising $125 million.
The launch of the fund by Perennial followed the success of its first private companies fund (PPP), and the new strategy which announced in September, would employ the same investment strategy as its predecessor fund with the aim to generate superior returns over a five-year period.
According to FE Analytics, the first Private to Public Opportunity fund had returned 31.89% since inception on 16 August, 2019, to 31 August, 2020.
The fund aimed to invest in high-growth equity opportunities through an actively managed portfolio of 30-45 unlisted, pre-IPO and listed Australian companies.
Perennial said it had already identified several private and pre-IPO investments for the new fund, with the deployment of capital to commence immediately.
Andrew Smith, Perennial head of smaller companies and microcaps, said: “We appreciate the support from investors for our initial PPP fund, as well as the strong demand experienced for PPP2. We are very pleased to reach the maximum fund target size of $125 million for our second PPP fund”.
Brendan Lyons, Perennial head of private investments, said investors had been supportive of the fund’s investment strategy, which focused on the Last Private Offer (LPO) undertaken by founder-led companies prior to an IPO or other liquidity event.
“Our systematic process, coupled with a large and growing pipeline of private opportunities, provides a diversified investment exposure which is otherwise difficult to access,” Lyons said.
“In addition, increased volatility in global equity markets this year has prompted many investors to seek out alternate sources of return.”
Ryan Sohn, deputy portfolio manager, said two of the initial investments included e-commerce businesses with significant scale as well as a health technology company with unique intellectual property.
“We have followed the growth of these businesses for a significant period of time and are delighted to now be part of the journey with them,” Sohn said.
Some of the businesses the first fund invested in included soft tissue regeneration business Aroa Biosurgery, diagnostic testing business Atomo Diagnostics and lung imaging technology firm 4D Medical, which all became listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) this year.
Performance of the Perennial Private to Public Opportunity fund since inception to 31 August 2020
