2x return on Digital Insight boosts HarbourVest fund

  • HarbourVest Partners 2013 Direct Fund LP closes at $1 billion
  • New direct fund oversubscribed
  • Digital Insight bought by NCR for $1.7 billion in January

HarbourVest Partners said it raised $1 billion for the fund in an oversubscribed effort that surpassed the $734 million raised for HarbourVest 2007 Direct Fund.

HarbourVest pooled LP dollars from HarbourVest Partners 2013 Direct Fund for an investment in Thoma Bravo’s August 2013 deal for Digital Insight. NCR bought Digital Insight for $1.65 billion in January, or two times the cost of investment from HarbourVest’s direct fund, according to the firm. HarbourVest said the deal allowed it to make an early distribution to partners.

All told, the 2013 Direct Fund has already closed 10 buyout and growth equity deals in the United States, Australia and Latin America, or about a quarter of the fund.

HarbourVest said it plans to target the majority of the fund toward small- and mid-market companies, following in the vein of the 2007 Direct Fund, which invested more than 64 percent of its capital in companies with enterprise values below $1.5 billion.

More than 30 investors committed to the fund, including corporate pensions, public pensions, endowments, Taft Hartley plans and foundations.

“A critical component of our success is our direct investment pipeline made up of qualified, actionable opportunities that are often pre-screened by general partners prior to HarbourVest’s review,” Rob Wadsworth, managing director at HarbourVest, said in a prepared statement.

With more than 30 years of investing in private markets, HarbourVest said it leverages its network to originate and evaluate co-investment opportunities.

”HarbourVest’s longstanding partnerships with proven managers can generate strong deal flow, a large and diversified set of investment opportunities, and the opportunity to add value on a proprietary basis,” the Boston-based firm said.