Ohio school pension backs KKR and Francisco Partners funds

School Employee Retirement System of Ohio at its June meeting committed $150 million to private equity and private credit funds from Francisco Partners and KKR, according to notes from its June meeting.

The system’s investment committee pledged $50 million each to Francisco Partners’ sixth fund and its Agility II fund, according to notes from Ohio SERS.

Francisco Partners VI, which focuses on the TMT industry in North America and Europe, closed in May at $7.45 billion, exceeding its $6.6 billion target, according to data from Private Equity International (PEI). Francisco Partners Agility II, which also invests in the TMT space, also closed last month. It raised $1.5 billion, surpassing its $1.35 billion target, according to PEI.

To date, the firm has raised $24 billion in capital and targets investments with transaction values between $20 million and $3 billion, according to its website.

Ohio also committed $50 million to KKR Dislocation Opportunity under its private credit asset class, notes showed. The stressed/distressed strategy fund had raised $2.8 billion, PEI data shows.

The system approved its private credit asset class in February, Buyouts previously reported. It will officially launch in July.

Private equity makes up 10.8 percent of Ohio SERS’ portfolio, as of April 2020. The portfolio’s total fund balance increased by $670 million between March and April and now sits at $14.21 billion, according to meeting notes.

Action Item: Check out highlights from the board meeting here.