New Mexico State Investment Council, Santa Fe, committed up to $100 million to Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners IX, a large-cap buyout fund, said Charles Wollmann, spokesman for the $23.3 billion endowments, in an email.
The fund would focus on buyouts primarily in North America and Europe. It has a $15 billion fundraising target and hard cap from limited partners. Hellman & Friedman's investment executives and certain senior advisers plan to commit a combined minimum of $1 billion to the fund. This is a new relationship for the council.
Separately, the council settled over a pay-to-play situation in which certain money managers allegedly paid insiders to help them obtain investments or commitments from the council. The council settled its March 17, 2017, lawsuit against HM Capital Partners for $800,000. The lawsuit sought damages against HM Capital arising from the private equity firm's use of a politically connected third-party marketer in New Mexico, Marc Correra, in securing a $30 million commitment from the State Investment Council to one of HM's funds. Mr. Correra received a 2% commission on the council's commitment. HM Capital Partners has since dissolved.
The council also settled its pay-to-play related claims against Cabrera Capital Markets for $50,000. In 2005 and 2006, Cabrera Capital was the broker-dealer that handled the administrative side of Mr. Correra's placement agent business. Mr. Correra marketed investments as a registered representative of Cabrera in exchange for paying the broker-dealer 10% of his placement agent fees. The council did not sue Cabrera.
