Whitehorse Liquidity Partners has raised its largest fund since the firm’s inception, with $5.3 billion in commitments for its Flagship Fund V.
Investors in the new fund include the Virginia Retirement System in 2021 and the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. in 2022.
“Closing our largest fund since inception, through a period of uncertainty and market volatility, is a remarkable achievement,” said Yann Robard, managing partner and co-founder of Whitehorse, who described the asset raise as underpinning the team’s global position as a liquidity solutions provider for private equity portfolios.
The Toronto-based firm, which offers customized private equity portfolio financing through structured liquidity solutions, has now raised $13.5 billion in commitments and sourced over $550 billion in potential opportunities since the private equity firm’s 2015 inception.
Roughly 85% of existing investors at the firm committed to the latest fund, said Michael Gubbels, who is also a partner and co-founder. And over the last eight years, the team has deployed over $18 billion across over 200 transactions and grown to over 155 professionals. Robard and Gubbels set up Whitehorse after specializing in secondaries programs at Canadian pension plans. Robard spent 13 years at the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board responsible for a team handling private equity secondaries and global co-investments. Gubbels spent five years at the direct private equity investment programs at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System.
“As many private equity investors remain overallocated to the asset class and GPs seek thoughtful financing providers for their balance sheets, we believe the demand for our customized portfolio financing solutions will remain high,” Robard added. “Our innovative approach and the flexibility of our solutions continues to garner significant interest in the market.”
“We believe that as private capital grows, the demand for bespoke portfolio financing solutions by limited partners and general partners will continue to fuel this opportunity set,” said Giorgio Riva, a partner at Whitehorse.
Earlier this year, the firm announced the addition of a London office. Rob Gavin, a partner at Whitehorse, said, “As we finished raising Flagship Fund V, we thought it was the opportune time to go global and open up our London office. The focus of our London office will be to remain close to our investors, our counterparties and the general partners in our portfolio.”
Kirkland & Ellis and Goodmans served as legal counsel for Whitehorse and Flagship Fund V.
