The board of
Absolute’s funds invest in a range of private equity and venture investments, including stakes in distressed securities, mezzanine debt and secondary fund investments. As of last week, the net asset value per share was $24.16, according to a press release.
Boston-based HarbourVest, with more than $30 billion under management, is one of the world’s largest fund-of-funds firms. It plans to finance the proposed acquisition through a combination of its $2.9 billion
“This transaction offers shareholders an opportunity to exit their investment for cash at an attractive price, whilst it enables others to remain invested alongside an experienced partner,” said Thomas Amstutz, Absolute’s chairman, in a written statement. He called HarbourVest an “ideal partner for Absolute Private Equity.”
HarbourVest has been particularly active on the acquisition front of late, bidding aggressively for the private equity assets of major banks ahead of the implementation of the Volcker Rule, which is part of the new Dodd-Frank financial reform law.
The Volcker Rule, named after former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, severely curtails the amount of alternative investments that banking firms can manage, which in turn has led these banks to try and exit these businesses.
In mid-April, HarbourVest was among a syndicate of private equity firms that created a new fund-of-funds company,
If the deal for Absolute Private Equity is approved by shareholders, as expected, the acquisition will likely close in the third quarter.