Hong Kong Jockey Club sells US$1 billion portfolio to Canada firm
The entity has multiple exclusive legal betting licenses granted by the government on activities including horse racing and football wagering
[HONG KONG] The Hong Kong Jockey Club has sold US$1 billion worth of assets from its fund portfolio at a discount to Toronto-based Dawson Partners, according to sources familiar with the matter, marking one of the biggest disposals by an asset allocator in Asia.
The deal includes investments in funds of Blackstone and other buyout firms, according to the sources, who requested not to be named for discussing private matters. They were sold at a single-digit discount to the portfolio’s net asset value, one of the sources said. Jefferies Financial Group advised on the deal, the sources added.
The Jockey Club, the largest taxpayer in Hong Kong, initiated the process earlier this year, sources said in July. The entity has multiple exclusive legal betting licenses granted by the government on activities, including horse racing and football wagering.
Increasingly, more Asia limited partners – pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and family offices – are seeking exits through the secondary market, which allows investors to get capital sooner. In exchange for providing liquidity, buyers often demand discounts. Investors who committed capital during private equity’s fundraising peak four years ago are also wary of liquidity constraints.
Founded in 2015, alternative manager Dawson Partners had some US$20 billion of assets under management at the end of 2024 with more than 200 employees globally. It also has offices in London and New York.
Dawson’s co-founders are Yann Robard, who was formerly head of secondaries and co-investments at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Michael Gubbels, who worked at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System.
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Private credit and infrastructure secondaries typically trade at 5 to 10 per cent discounts, while venture funds hover around 20 per cent and real estate funds face the deepest cuts, trading down by roughly 30 per cent, said Wen Ting Geok, head of Asia private equity at Mercer.
Representatives from the jockey club, Dawson, Jefferies and Blackstone declined to comment.
One of the key challenges in secondary market pricing is the time lag between when a fund’s net asset value is assessed and when the actual transfer of fund interests occurs. This gap can last six months or longer and may lead to valuation adjustments, which, if misaligned, could cause transactions to fall through.
Earlier, China Investment Corporation, the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, had looked to offload US$1 billion in positions with firms including Carlyle Group and KKR to reduce US holdings this year before pulling the sale, Bloomberg News reported in June.
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