New York Commits $210M To U.S. And Asian Buyouts

The New York State Common Retirement Fund, which controlled $153.9 billion at last check, recently re-upped to a middle-market buyout fund and began new relationships with a debut buyout fund and an Asian fund of funds. This latest round of commitments totaled $210 million.

The limited partner pledged $100 million to Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund III, having committed up to $75 million to the predecessor fund; $60 million to GenNx360 Capital Partners, a minority-owned firm and a new relationship for the LP; and $50 million to Asia Alternatives Capital Partners II, a minority and women-owned firm and a new manager for the state.

By August, Ares Management LLC, a Los Angeles-based firm, had collected $3 billion toward the $4 billion target of its latest fund. Other backers include California Public Employees’ Retirement System; CPP Investment Board; Kansas Public Employees Retirement System; New York State Teachers’ Retirement System; Pearl Holding Limited; and Princess Private Equity Holding Limited. Ares Management intends to make investments of $100 million to $400 million in undercapitalized U.S. middle-market companies.

GenNx360 Capital Partners initially raised $500 million for its debut buyout fund, but reopened the fund to commitments a couple of months ago, according to Jim Fuchs, a state spokesperson. The firm invests in underperforming companies that provide industrial business-to-business services and that have enterprise values of $100 million to $500 million. GenNx360 Capital Partners provides equity of $25 million to $100 million per deal. Target industries include industrial water treatment, specialty chemicals and engineered materials, industrial machinery and equipment components, global transportation component parts and services, industrial security services and business services. The San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System pledged $10 million last year.

Ronald Blaylock founded New York-based GenNx 360 Capital in 2006 along with former GE executives Arthur Harper and James Shepard. The firm has offices in Cambridge, Mass., New York, Seattle and India.

Asia Alternatives Capital Partners’s fund of funds, Asia Alternatives Capital Partners II, established in October 2007, has secured $950 million from several backers, including CalPERS, Conversus Capital and the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System. The original target was $850 million, with a hard cap of $1 billion. The firm invests in the funds of local Asian firms in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and India. Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand are also possible investment locations. The firm closed its predecessor fund with $515 million in mid-2007, surpassing its initial target of $350 million.

“Gaining access to new markets is vital to the [New York’s] diversification strategy,’ said New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, sole trustee of the pension fund, in a press release. “Asia Alternatives has a proven track record in the Asian market and gives our Fund an excellent opportunity to grow our presence in the Asian private equity space.”