The New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, made seven private equity and real estate commitments in April totaling $1.05 billion, according to a report posted on the website of Thomas DiNapoli, the state comptroller and sole trustee of the $210 billion pension fund.
The private equity commitments include €320 million ($361 million U.S). to the Seventh Cinven Fund, managed by Cinven Partners, which "will target large, control buyout transactions in Europe," emphasizing several categories, including business services, financial services, health care and industrials, the report said. Cinven is an existing relationship for the pension fund.
The pension fund made two commitments to funds managed by CVC Capital Partners, totaling $266.7 million, including one to CVC Growth Partners II for $200 million. "CVC will seek to make growth equity and buyout investments in middle-market, growth-oriented companies in the software and technology-enabled business services sectors in Europe and North America," the report said.
The other commitment of $66.7 million was to CVC Growth Partners II Co-Investment, which will invest in the same sectors and same locations as the other CVC fund. CVC Partners is an existing relationship for the pension fund.
The other private equity commitments were to:
- Providence Strategic Growth IV, managed by Providence Equity Partners, for $100 million. "Providence will pursue growth-oriented software and technology enabled services companies in the lower middle-market, in North America," according to the report, which didn't say if Providence was a new relationship.
- HKW Capital Partners V for $20 million made through the M2 NY Pioneer Fund II, for which Muller & Monroe Asset Management is the adviser and a partner in the pension fund's emerging manager program. HKW Capital Partners V is a closed end, commingled investment vehicle managed by Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Co., the report said. "HKW will make control investments in growth-oriented lower middle-market businesses across a variety of sectors," the report said. HKW is a new relationship for the pension fund.
- Viola FinTech I, for $5 million, managed by Viola Group, through the Hamilton Lane/NYSCRF Israel Fund. The New York pension fund report didn't provide additional information.
The real estate commitment was for $300 million to Asana Partners Select Retail Fund, described by the pension fund's report as a "fund of one structure focused on core and core-plus retail assets in the top urban and near-urban neighborhood locations in the U.S." The fund is managed by Asana Partners, a retail-focused, real estate investment firm, the report said.
Matthew Sweeney, a spokesman for Mr. DiNapoli, didn't immediately provide details about the Asana commitment or the other transactions.
