Conversus commits $28.2m to three funds

Conversus Capital has started 2008 with a rash of good news: it made three new fund commitments worth $28.2 million (€19 million), grew its portfolio value since listing on Euronext in July and closed its first-ever secondary portfolio, details of which are still to come.

The publicly traded fund of funds had estimated portfolio net asset value of approximately $2 billion, or $27.95 per unit, as of 31 December 2007. The number reflects an 11.8 percent growth since the fund went public in July, but is a slight decrease of $0.01 per unit from the end of November. The net asset value per unit at year-end incorporates a $0.125 per unit distribution paid 17 December, representing roughly a 2 percent annual yield.

“The benefits of our mature, diversified portfolio overcame the negative impact of public markets on our NAV,” Bob Long, president and chief executive, said in a statement. “Additionally, we closed on our first secondary portfolio purchase and continued to execute our strategy of increasing allocations outside the U.S. through commitments to top-tier managers.”

The firm has not yet released details regarding the secondary portfolio it closed, but did say it had committed $28.2 million of fresh capital to three funds: Asia Alternatives Capital Partners II, a pan-Asian private equity fund led by former Hellman & Friedman director Melissa Ma; Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co III, a private equity fund run by a New York-based Citi Venture Capital spin-out; and Index Ventures Growth I, a European venture fund that backs technology and biotech companies in Europe, Israel and the US.