Private capital secondaries fundraising hit record levels in the first half of 2016, primarily because of the closing of megafund Ardian Secondary Fund VII, a Preqin report said.
That fund, the largest secondaries fund ever, closed at $10.8 billion in April, one of two funds that closed in the second quarter. The other was Greenspring Secondaries Fund II, which closed at $200 million in June.
The previous record holder was Lexington Capital Partners VIII, which closed at $10.1 billion in April 2015.
Overall, five funds closed in the first half of 2016, raising a total of $14.1 billion, compared to $13.1 billion in the first half of 2015 and $14 billion in the first half of 2014. However, fewer funds are closing. Seven funds closed in the first half of 2015 and 17 funds closed in the first half of 2014.
Forty-one secondary funds are now seeking a total of $22.2 billion in capital, Preqin said. This compares to 32 secondary funds seeking $28 billion as of this January and 22 seeking $17 billion as of January 2015.
Preqin said there are 890 potential buyers in the secondary market as of the second quarter. Of these, 44% are located in North America, while 40% are based in Europe. Private equity fund-of-funds managers make up 21% of the total number of potential buyers.
Private equity fund-of-funds managers and public pension funds, meanwhile, make up the largest percentage of the 610 potential sellers that Preqin tracks, making up 13% and 12%, respectively.
The full market update is available on Preqin's website.
