Alaska Retirement, Though Over Target, Still Pledges

The $14.3 billion Alaska Retirement Management Board committed more than $85 million to eight private equity funds in the first five months of the year, despite being beyond its target allocation to the asset class.

Alaska’s actual allocation to private equity stood at 8.76 percent, as of April 30; the target allocation is 7 percent, with a range of 2 percent to 12 percent. The pledges divided about evenly between buyout and venture capital funds, with some distressed debt thrown into the mix as well.

A slug of $4.5 million went to media-focused buyout shop ABRY Partners for ABRY Senior Equity Investors III LP, which closed in April with $750 million. The fund is earmarked to provide mezzanine debt to back the Boston firm’s own buyout transactions and to provide growth capital to mid-market media companies. Hellman & Friedman LLC received $15 million for Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners VII LP, which closed with $8.8 billion for control-oriented buyouts.

Spectrum Equity Investors’s slug of $15 million went to Spectrum Equity Investors VI LP, which is earmarked for investments in mid-market companies. The vehicle has a target of $1.25 billion. TA Associates got $15 million for TA XI LP, which closed with $4 billion and will be used to make investments in the technology, financial services, business services, health care and consumer sectors.

The limited partner also pledged $2.7 million to Battery Ventures’s Battery Ventures IX, a venture fund that closed in March at $750 million. Multi-stage venture shop Oak Investment Partners got a slug of $15 million for Oak Investment Partners XIII LP, which has a target of $1.5 billion. And venture firm Trident Capital got $13.3 million for Trident Capital VII for security and enterprise software investments. The firm is seeking $400 million for the vehicle.

Oaktree Capital Management, meanwhile, received $5 million for OCM Opportunities VIIb, which closed with $10.6 billion and is earmarked for distressed debt.