Firms & Funds

Louisiana Teachers’ commits up to $75 mln to BC Partners

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Louisiana Teachers, pension fund, private equity, venture capital
Republican 2016 presidential candidate Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal speaks at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire April 18, 2015. Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Brian Snyder - RTR4XVCQ
  • BC Partners targeting 7 bln euros
  • Fund IX netting 15 pct IRR
  • Louisiana Teachers has $2.2 bln PE program

Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisianacommitted as much as $75 million to BC European Capital X at its June board meeting, Deputy Chief Investment Officer Maurice Coleman wrote in an email.

BC Partners set a 7 billion euro ($7.9 billion) target for its new fund, according to a Hamilton Lane report made available through a records request. Fund X will invest 200 million to 800 million euros of equity per deal.

Fund X will likely make 15 to 20 investments, the report said. Typical portfolio companies will have enterprise values of as much as 2 billion euros.

The firm’s previous fund, a 6.7 billion euro 2011 vintage, netted a 15 percent internal rate of return and 1.3x multiple as of Dec. 31, according to the report.

Fund IX has performed considerably better than the firm’s pre-recession vehicle, which Hamilton Lane marked as third quartile. Fund VIII raised 5.9 billion euros and netted a 5.9 percent IRR and 1.3x multiple as of the same date.

The “numerous lessons learned from the crisis fund should increase consistency of returns,” Hamilton Lane wrote in its report. The firm fully integrated the functions of its operations team and deal teams, which has made the initial underwriting of deals “more robust.”

Other post-2005 improvements include an increased focus on portfolio construction, new tools for value creation and exits, as well as monthly portfolio-company reviews, Hamilton Lane wrote.

TRSL valued its investment portfolio at $16.6 billion as of April 30. Its private equity portfolio was valued around $2.2 billion, representing 13.3 percent of the pension’s investment assets.

Action Item: BC Partners: www.bcpartners.com