Minnesota re-ups $170 mln to Northern Europe specialist

  • IK Investment Partners targeting 1.6 bln euros
  • Firm’s previous fund generating 5.9 pct IRR
  • Minnesota has $4.7 bln PE portfolio

Minnesota Board of Investment re-upped 150 million euros ($170.1 million) to IK Investment Partners at its June 2 meeting, according to board documents.

The firm set a 1.6 billion euro target for IK Fund VIII, Private Equity International reported. IK Investment Partnersspecializes in Northern European buyouts, typically investing as much as 150 million euros in companies with enterprise valuations of less than 500 million euros.

Minnesota committed $181 million to the firm’s previous fund, a 1.4 billion euro 2013 vintage vehicle. Fund VII was delivering a 5.9 percent internal rate of return and 1.08x multiple on investment capital as of March 31, according to Minnesota documents.

Fund VII had invested in at least 12 companies located throughout Northern Europe, according to the firm’s website. The fund was less than three years into its investment period as of that date.

IK Investment Partners’ London office couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

In addition to IK Investment Partners, Minnesota also committed $100 million to LBC Credit Partners IV. LBC Credit Management set a $600 million target for investments in high-yield loans to mid-market companies, according to DFW Airport Board meeting materials.

Minnesota had a 12.3 percent allocation to private equity as of June 30, 2015, according to its most recent annual report. The pension valued its PE portfolio at $4.7 billion as of that date, good for 64 percent of the alternatives portfolio.

The alternatives portfolio, which also includes yield-oriented, real estate and resource funds, netted a 10-year annualized return of 13.6 percent.

Action Item: Minnesota’s most recent annual report: http://bit.ly/1TTdufB