Florida SBA commits $625m to private equity

The Florida State Board of Administration committed $625 million to six private equity funds during the first quarter of 2014, a Florida spokesperson confirmed to Private Equity International.

Florida’s largest of commitment of $200 million went to secondaries firm Lexington Partners’ Fund VIII, which launched earlier this year with an $8 billion target, according to PEI’s Research and Analytics division. Fund VIII had reportedly collected $2.5 billion as of January and was expected to collect $5 billion by the end of February. Limited partners in the fund include the Minnesota State Board of Investment and the City of Tallahassee Pension Fund, according to PEI data.

Florida also committed $150 million each to Energy Capital Partners III and Ardian’s Secondary Fund VI. 

Energy Capital’s Fund III raised $5.04 billion on $3.5 billion target last year. LPs in the fund include the California State Teachers’ Retirement System and the North Carolina State Treasury, according to PEI data. The firm invests in North American energy infrastructure across the power generation, oil and gas transportation and storage and electric transmission sectors, according to its website.

AXA Private Equity became Ardian in October 2013. The firm’s sixth secondaries fund launched earlier this year and surpassed its $4 billion target, collection $5 billion, according to PEI data. LPs in the fund include the Michigan State University Endowment and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. 

Florida also invested $75 million in Stone Point Capital’s Trident Fund VI, which launched this year and has raised $4.48 billion on a $4.5 billion target, according to PEI data. Stone Point makes investments of between $50 million and $350 million in financial services companies.

Florida committed $25 million in both Post Oak Energy Partners Fund II and Accel-KKR Structured Capital Partners II, according to the email from the spokesperson.

Post Oak’s second fund launched last year and closed on its $500 million target, according to PEI data. The Houston-based firm has made two acquisitions this year, investing in Oryx Midstream, which provides oil and gas transportation and storage services, and Crown Oil Partners which acquires and develops low-risk natural gas exploitation properties, according to Post Oak’s website.

Accel-KKR’s second growth equity and venture capital fund raised $350 million on a $300 million target earlier this year, according to PEI data. Fund II follows the same strategy as Accel-KKR’s prior fund structured capital fund, by investing in lower mid-market software companies.

Florida has a 6 percent target allocation to private equity and an actual allocation of just below 5 percent, according a separate email from the Florida spokesperson. The system has $144 billion of assets under management.