Goldman Sachs closes US$9.7b private-equity fund, largest since 2007

GOLDMAN Sachs Group has closed a US$9.7 billion private-equity fund, its largest since 2007, that seeks to invest in companies with an enterprise value of about US$750 million to US$2 billion, the bank said on Tuesday (Sep 27).

The fund sits under the Wall Street giant’s asset management arm and is known as “West Street Capital Partners VIII.” It plans to invest an average of US$300 million to take controlling stakes in companies in the financial and business services sectors, as well as healthcare, consumer, technology and climate change transition.

“This fund raise builds on our 30-year history in private equity as we continue to scale the business and make our alternatives offerings available to a wider range of investors,” said Julian Salisbury, global co-head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, in a statement. GSAM, as the business is known, oversees US$2.5 trillion in assets, with private equity (PE) accounting for US$176 billion.

Goldman’s money managers are not alone in raising PE funds. BlackRock has about US$35 billion focused on PE strategies, and last year alone, it raised US$3 billion to invest in PE secondary market deals.

Investors in Goldman’s latest venture include pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. The bank, as well as some of its employees, also invested.

The fund has already backed Norgine, a European pharmaceutical company, Nippo Corp, a road pavement company in Japan, and Parexel, a clinical research organization, among others. REUTERS