Wisconsin makes $886m in commitments in Q1 2020

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board at its Wednesday meeting revealed nearly $1 billion in private equity investments and co-investments made between January and March, according to meeting material.

The system committed to funds spanning the technology, consumer good, industrials and healthcare sectors.

Private equity investments for the first quarter included:

• $32.5 million to Align Capital Partners’ second fund, which focuses on the financial services, biotech, life sciences, oil & gas and industrials industry. Align Capital Partners Fund II closed in February with $450 million, according to data from sister site Private Equity International;
• $35 million to American Pacific Group Fund I, which closed in February at $450 million. The fund invests in consumer goods, healthcare, industrials, business services and TMT sectors;
• $200 million to Clearlake Capital Partners VI, which closed on $7 billion in April, exceeding its $5 billion target;
• $30 million to Gemspring Capital Fund II. The California-based firm invests in the lower-mid-market, according to PE Hub;
• $70.6 million to two HG Capital funds, Genesis 9 and Saturn 2. Both funds closed in May with €5 billion and €4.46 billion, respectively. Genesis 9 and Saturn 2 both invest in the TMT sector in Europe, with the Genesis fund investing in companies with enterprise values between €500 million and €1.5 billion and Saturn 2 with enterprise values more than €1.5 billion, PEI data shows;
• $150 million to Kohlberg & Company’s ninth fund, targeting $3 billion, according to PEI data;
• €40 million to Montefiore Investments V, which closed in February at €850 million. The fund targets the healthcare, retail and leisure industries in Western Europe;
• €75 million to Providence Strategic Growth Europe, with a fund size of €640 million, according to PEI. The fund invests to software and technology-enabled service providers in Europe;
• $50 million to Vista Credit Partners III, targeting $2 billion. According to Buyouts, Vista’s credit opportunities funds invests in primary and secondary loans in the private software debt market.
• $187.5 billion to three unnamed co-investment vehicles in the industrials, media & entertainment, consumer and healthcare industries.

The firm also pledged $17 million to two unnamed private debt investments in the food and services industry.

Wisconsin’s $886.7 million first-quarter commitments are roughly 43 percent higher than its Q4 2019 haul that saw the system invest $620 million to private equity firms.

Private equity/debt makes up 11 percent of the system’s $100.2 billion portfolio, as of March 31, according to a SWIB meeting document.

Action Item: To check out Wisconsin’s board meeting document click here.

Update: A previous version of the story stated the target size for the Providence Equity Partners fund rather than the actual size. The fund size amount has also been updated to properly reflect how much Providence raised for the fund and which sectors it invests in.  The article has been updated to reflect the changes.