BlackRock Says $50M Raised From One Investor

The Form D filing for BlackRock Private Equity Partners VI US LP on July 22 came after BlackRock bought the European private equity and infrastructure funds-of-funds franchise of Swiss Re in 2012. It isn’t clear whether the fund is still in the market, or would accept additional investors. Also unclear is the strategy of the fund. A spokesman for BlackRock declined to comment.

BlackRock Private Equity Partners AG traces its roots to 1999 as an investor in primary funds, secondaries and direct co-investment opportunities through core funds, satellite funds and customized separate accounts.

With $15 billion under management, BlackRock Private Equity Partners, the Swiss subsidiary of BlackRock Alternative Investments, handles investments in the private equity and infrastructure sectors across all regions, according to BlackRock’s website. The team of 115 specialists manages structured secondary transactions and customized mandates for institutional investors, private investors and financial intermediaries worldwide.

Earlier this year, BlackRock named former Credit Suisse banker Andy Stewart to lead its alternative investment unit along with Matt Botein, and closed down a three-person direct private equity division launched in 2011.

“We had a very strong direct private equity team but given our clients are looking to us for other fund-of-funds solutions, we are going to transition out of the direct PE business,” a BlackRock spokesman told sister news service Reuters in March.

BlackRock Private Equity Partners employs a “consistent investment approach” to provide access to “globally diversified, carefully constructed private equity portfolios,” according to the firm’s website. The strategy aims to deliver diversification to mitigate portfolio risk, leverage its team’s relationships with “top-tier general partners” and deploy careful selection.

Botein did not return an email from Buyouts seeking comment on the firm’s latest fund, nor did a spokesperson for the company. Russell Steenberg, managing director, heads BlackRock Private Equity Partners.

While the latest fund carries the Roman numeral six, only one other Form D filing from BlackRock carries a similar name, BlackRock Private Equity Select Fund II LP, a 2007 vintage vehicle that disclosed $55.8 million raised from 141 investors.

Fund-of-funds vehicles by the New York-based firm include 2012 vintage, $173 million DivPEP V, the $749 million BlackRock Diversified PE Program Fund LP from 2000 and the $612 million Q-BLK Private Capital III from 2006, according to the Thomson One private equity database.