Washington Bets On Europe And China With Three New Pledges

The latest round of commitments from the $60 billion Washington State Investment Board demonstrate its continued appetite for international investments.

The limited partner re-upped with London-based Charterhouse Capital Partners, but also added to two firms—Triton Partners and Fountainvest China Growth Capital Fund—to gain further exposure abroad.

The biggest commitment of up to €200 million ($300 million) went to Charterhouse Capital Partners IX. The limited partner also made pledges of up to €150 million ($215 million) to Triton Fund III; and up to $50 million in FountainVest China Growth Capital Fund, according to Liz Mendizabal, spokesperson.

Washington and Charterhouse Capital have a long history together, with the state having pledged $47.5 million to Charterhouse Capital Partners VI; $100 million to Fund VII; and $169 million to Fund VIII. Charterhouse Capital invests in management buyouts and corporate restructurings in most industrial and commercial sectors in companies headquartered in Western Europe worth €400 million to €4 billion. According to the LP, Charterhouse Capital Partners VI generated a total value multiple of 2.19x and an IRR since inception of 19.5 percent as of March 31; Charterhouse Capital Partners VII has generated a multiple of 2.00x and an IRR of 46.4 percent; and Charterhouse Capital Partners VIII has generated a multiple of 1.09x and an IRR of 9.8 percent.

Triton Partners is a Frankfurt, Germany-based buyout shop founded in 1999. The firm owns industrial firms in Austria, Finland, Germany, Sweden and the United States. It raised $1.4 billion for Triton Fund II in 2006.

FountainVest China Growth Capital Fund was established in 2007 by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. The firm invests in deals of about $50 million to $100 million involving Chinese companies entering high-growth stages. FountainVest is seeking $750 million for its freshman fund.