Allianz Capital plans to back more North American PE funds

As Buyouts previously reported, Susanne Forsingdal, head of U.S. fund investing at ATP Private Equity Partners, is leaving the fund of funds to join Allianz in January. She will be head of U.S. fund investment and co-investing for the group, Stefanie Rupp-Menedetter, an Allianz Capital spokesperson, said in an interview with Buyouts.

The hiring of Forsingdal represents the first step in what will be an expansion into the Americas market, especially North America and possibly Latin America, Rupp-Menedetter said.

“We said, ‘let’s expand our presence in the U.S. and focus more on private equity funds in the Americas,’ and that’s why Susanne is coming to us,” Rupp-Menedetter said.

“North America is the largest and deepest private equity market globally and continues to offer significant opportunities for our fund investment business,” she said in a separate email.

Rupp-Menedetter declined to provide a monetary goal of how much the group would like to spend on fund investments and co-investments in the Americas. Allianz Capital has existing exposure to the region, she added.

It’s not clear what specific strategies Allianz Capital will seek to back. Allianz Capital focuses on fund and co-investing, as well as investing in renewable energy and infrastructure. The group has about €2 billion in renewable energy investments, €2 billion in infrastructure exposure and €6 billion in fund commitments and co-investments. Allianz Capital does not disclose how much it has invested in the Americas.

Allianz Capital uses money from the balance sheet of financial services company Allianz Group. Allianz Capital has no current plans to raise external funds, Rupp-Menedetter said.

The group has offices in Munich, Germany, Singapore and New York. Allianz Capital’s fund investment activities are led by global co-heads Michael Lindauer and Andress Goh.