Firms & Funds

Illinois Teachers backs Astorg, Grain, Siris and TSG

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Illinois teachers, TRS, private equity, Astorg, TSG
People walk by the snow-covered Cloud Gate sculpture (also known as The Bean) in Millennium Park in Chicago on Dec. 13, 2016. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski
  • AUM: $49 bln
  • PE Allocation: 13.2 pct, target 12 pct
  • Whom to contact: Dave Urbanek, director of communications, durbanek@trsil.org

Teachers’ Retirement System of Illinois committed $318 million to private equity funds spanning communications and consumer sectors.

The system at its March meeting also made $500 million of pledges to real estate funds.

TRS’s PE portfolio grew to $6.8 billion and makes up 13.2 percent of its equity asset class, its fiscal 2018 year-end summary shows.

Board commitments include:

  • €60 million ($68 million) to Astorg’s seventh fund, which closed in January at €4 billion against a €3.2 billion target;
  • $50 million to Grain Communications Opportunity Fund II, which focuses on communication investments. Grain Management set a hard cap of $850 million for the fund, its fourth investment pool;
  • $50 million to tech-focused Siris Capital Group’s Fund IV, which closed on $3.45 billion in March, exceeding its $3 billion target;
  • $100 million to TSG Consumer Partners’ eighth fund, which closed in February with $4 billion in pledges.

Astorg, Grain and Siris manage more than $196 million in assets for TRS.

Illinois committed $300 million to Blackstone’s ninth real estate fund, and $200 million to Rockpoint Group’s sixth real estate pool. Blackstone is targeting $20 billion for its latest real estate pool, and Rockpoint is aiming for $3 billion for its sixth real estate fund.

Commitments were made from Dec. 13, 2018, to March 14, 2019, a representative told Buyouts.