Kirk Falconer

Brookfield's private equity, real estate and other platforms will share oversight of the retail initiative, which will make non-control investments in merchants with pre-pandemic revenue of $250m or more.

While a coronavirus-driven down-cycle is unlikely to shut down fundraising for viable GPs with first-time offerings, it has multiplied their challenges.

Cornell Capital Partners II, which has not yet secured commitments, comes less than two years after the close of the firm’s inaugural multi-asset buyout fund at $1.3 billion-plus.

Substantial minority capital on the balance sheet lends financial capabilities to managers second only to those afforded to “the largest public guys,” Dyal Capital Partners head Michael Rees told Buyouts.

"Customers are scaling back on tech spending for the first time in a long time. The effects are diverse and tech companies will be impacted differently," Bain Capital's Darren Abrahamson said.

The fund's strategy, designed prior to the covid-19 pandemic, could have even more resonance today with a potentially growing pool of distressed assets.

The health crisis has drawn more attention to food production and security issues, renewing a focus on farmland investing, Area One Farms CEO Joelle Faulkner said.

As part of the job, Tall will directly manage the global PE investment platform, replacing Charles Émond, who in January was named CDPQ’s president and CEO.

Jane Rowe, head of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan's private capital group, said the organization is benefiting from a balanced portfolio and focus on private companies that “work well in the long-term and through different cycles.”

Monogram Capital Partners II's launch comes as the fundraising market is being battered by the covid-19 pandemic, creating fresh challenges for first- and second-time vehicles.