Secondaries

Adviser estimates put secondaries transaction volume at around $110bn, with GP-led processes accounting for roughly 45% of those transactions.

The top secondaries deals, firms, law firms and advisers of the year.

As scrutiny intensifies, it becomes ever more important for sponsors to ensure they are following best practice on GP-leds, say Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld partners Amanda Butler-Jones, Daniel Quinn and Fadi Samman.

With fundraising sluggish and GPs often desperate for capital, LPs are in a stronger position to demand certain concessions on their ‘no-fee’ co-investments.

GP-led deals can help cultivate relationships between sponsors and investors, particularly as the buyside universe expands, say PJT Partners’ Christopher Areson, Imran Hameed and Daniel Schuster.

A lack of full exits means it is too soon to say how well this latest generation of GP-led secondaries will fare, but the ingredients for success are all in place, says Jochen Mende at UBS Asset Management.

The breadth of GPs and resilient businesses to be found in the mid-market makes for highly compelling single-asset deals, says Hayfin’s Mirja Lehmler-Brown.

Identifying a credible lead investor that will deliver on execution can be more important than extracting the last dollar on price, says Glendower Capital (CVC Secondaries) managing partner Chi Cheung.

New approaches to GP-led transactions continue to emerge as the ecosystem matures and market needs evolve, says Stefano Manna, head of GP Advisory at Investec.