Perennial launches new investment fund

Perennial has announced the launch of its latest private company investment fund for wholesale investors.

The new Perennial Private to Public Evergreen Fund, called PPP+, is an evergreen version of Perennial's existing Perennial Private to Public (PPP) investment strategy.

PPP+ will be managed by the Perennial Private Investments team of six with experience across both private and public markets, corporate transactions, and IPOs.

The team is supported by the broader Perennial Partners business which provides strategic, operational and distribution support.

PPP+ is the sixth private fund managed by Perennial. The Perennial Private Investments team currently manages a total of $700 million across these funds.

Perennial head of private investments Brendan Lyons said the current investment backdrop is highly attractive for Perennial's PPP strategy.

"In terms of deployment, the domestic private market remains favourable with lower valuations and attractive terms, and few suppliers of this type of private capital," Lyons said.

"On the other hand, we have seen a marked increase in corporate activity (takeovers, mergers and IPOs) in both domestic and offshore public markets since the start of the year."

Lyons said there were 93 M&A transactions - both public and private - announced in Australia in the first quarter, valued at $34 billion. Meanwhile, 17 ASX-listed companies received takeover offers with values of $100 million or more in the same period.

"And in the US, the first quarter of 2024, saw the highest number of public listings in the last two years for larger IPOs (with proceeds above $1 billion)," he said.

"The combination of attractive terms for fund deployment and a significant increase in corporate activity is the perfect sweet spot to be launching our new PPP+ Fund. This is a favourable dynamic which we haven't seen in the market for three to four years."

PPP+ will invest in a diverse range of private growth and pre-IPO companies plus selected IPOs and listed placements, sourced from Perennial's pipeline of private company deal flow.

The new fund will consist of 15 to 25 positions in domestic, fast-growing, founder-led private business that wish to "stay private for longer" before an IPO, trade sale or secondary selldown.

PPP+ will open for wholesale investors on 29 April 29 2024 and close at the end of June.