June 4, 2024
New York partners Shukie Grossman, Co-Chair of our Investment Funds Practice Group, and Sean McFarlane and associate Kate Timmerman participated in a keynote interview with Buyouts for its 2024 Secondaries Special Report and discussed the increasing popularity of the secondaries market—including current trends, challenges, and regulatory scrutiny—and shared their outlook for the short and long term.
Shukie noted that “…because GP-leds have become so interesting, many sponsors that have traditionally focused on raising buyout funds are now raising separate funds dedicated to investing in these vehicles. That is testament to the popularity of GP-leds, and as we see more dedicated capital raised, we can look forward to deployment driving more activity in this area.”
Regarding the evolution of GP-led secondaries transactions, Sean observed that “[w]here historically RWI only covered standard fundamental representations and maybe a few knowledge-qualified reps for portfolio companies, today’s buyers’ market has driven demand for better protections. Insurance has provided a solution to streamline processes.”
“We expect the GP-led market to become busier after a volatile few years, with more players entering the market and doing more sophisticated deals, both in terms of deal constructs and the documentation required,” Kate predicted.
The full article is available here [PDF].