Type: Managed Fund Secondary

Year: 2019

Mandate: $1.7 billion

Region: North America

Asset class: Private Equity

The fundraise was executed by way of a structured secondary transaction, in which:

• The client sold-down a portion of its interests in a selection of private equity fund and co-investment assets to seed a newly formed vehicle, Manulife Private Equity Partners
• Capital was raised to fund the acquisition of these assets, to provide fresh capital to make new fund investments, and to make a commitment to HCM Co-investment Fund II, ahead of the formal fundraising launch for that fund

Following the successful launch of its first third-party infrastructure investment program, Manulife sought to pursue a similar transaction with its private equity program as a further step in building a successful third-party asset management franchise.

The rationale for such setup was that this would be a compelling investment opportunity for the team’s first third-party investors, while minimizing the risk associated with a pure blind pool fundraise for a captive investment team with no existing track record of managing third-party capital.

The deal’s innovative structure demonstrated that large-scale asset holders have an alternative to selling assets or spinning out teams, and can instead use assets strategically, while retaining investment talent in-house.

This transaction achieved both Manulife and John Hancock’s objectives, including increasing assets under management, retaining investment talent in-house and setting the team up for future fundraises.