Firms & Funds

San Francisco co-invests $25 mln alongside Patria

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The Hydroelectric Power Dam of Itaipu, Brazil; Photo courtesy of fotoember/iStock/Getty Images
  • AUM: $24.8 bln
  • PE target allocation: 18 pct
  • Contact SFERS at sfersconnect@sfgov.org
  • Why is this important: The system is continuing to build up it’s co-invest portfolio

San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System closed a $25 million co-investment with Brazil-focused Patria Investments earlier this year, according to a June 12 investment memo from Chief Investment Officer William Coaker.

The system recommended investing in Brazilian Private Equity Fund V (Ontario) Co-Invest Smartfit A in January, according to meeting minutes. The deal is SFERS’s first co-investment with Patria.

Patria, which is backed by Blackstone Group, in May closed a $126 million growth funding round in Smartfit Escola de Ginastica e Danca. At the time of the funding, Patria was already a backer of Smartfit, a Brazilian gym operator.

The deal comes as San Francisco works to ramp up its co-investing capabilities. At its April board meeting, SFERS said that it plans to increase its private equity co-investments over a decade to a range of $4 billion to $8 billion.

Patria did not respond to a comment request from Buyouts. The firm said in March is closed its sixth flagship private equity fund on $2.75 billion. Patria Brazilian Private Equity Fund V closed with close to $1.8 billion, exceeding its $1.5 billion target, in 2014, Buyouts reported.

SFERS also closed on its $50 million commitment to Falko Regional Aircraft’s Opportunities Fund II in May, according to Coaker. The private credit fund is targeting $600 million.