Perennial Partners has launched the Perennial Private to Public Evergreen Fund (PPP+), an evergreen version of its existing private to public (PPP) investment strategy.
In a statement on Friday, Perennial said that PPP+ will invest in a diverse range of private growth and pre-initial public offering (IPO) companies, in addition to selected IPOs and listed placements.
The fund will consist of 15 to 25 positions in domestic, fast-growing, founder-led private businesses that wish to “stay private for longer” before an IPO, trade sale or secondary selldown, according to the firm.
PPP+ will open for wholesale investors on 29 April and close at the end of June.
Brendan Lyons, Perennial’s head of private investments, said in terms of deployment, the domestic private market remains favourable with lower valuations and attractive terms, alongside few suppliers of this type of private capital.
“On the other hand, we have seen a marked increase in corporate activity (takeovers, mergers, and IPOs) in both domestic and offshore public markets since the start of the year,” Lyons added.
Namely, there were 93 M&A transactions – both private and public – announced in Australia in the first quarter, totalling $34 billion in value while 17 public companies received takeover offers with values of $100 million or more in the same period.
“And in the US, the first quarter of 2024 saw the highest number of public listings in the last two years for larger IPOs (with proceeds above $1 billion),” Lyons explained.
“The combination of attractive terms for fund deployment and a significant increase in corporate activity is the perfect sweet spot to be launching our new PPP+ Fund. This is a favourable dynamic which we haven’t seen in the market for three to four years.”
PPP+ is the sixth private fund managed by Perennial, whose investment team currently manages a total of $700 million across these funds.
Last month Perennial made key custody and fund administration service appointments, announcing that HSBC would provide global custody, funds administration, and exchange-traded fund administration services for all of its funds spanning 25 different markets.
At the time, Suzanne Bentley, head of operations at Perennial, said: “HSBC’s ongoing investment has enabled Perennial to consolidate listed managed funds, unit trusts, and venture capital and private asset administration into a single platform, facilitating an enhanced service experience for Perennial clients and their advisers.”
