Wednesday, 29 April 2020

#UAE News: #AbuDhabi Shelves Private Equity Sale Over Coronavirus - Bloomberg

UAE News: Abu Dhabi Shelves Private Equity Sale Over Coronavirus - Bloomberg:

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is delaying the sale of $2 billion in private-equity fund stakes after the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.

The sovereign wealth fund, which is estimated to have about $580 billion under management, was in talks with several investors including money manager Ardian about selling chunks of the portfolio, according to people familiar with the discussions. The market turmoil triggered by the crisis made it difficult for them to agree on how much the stakes were worth, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

ADIA plans to restart the sales process in the second half of the year, one of the people said. Spokespeople for ADIA and Ardian declined to comment.

The fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is roiling companies owned by private equity funds and has hurt the niche business of buying and selling buyout stakes -- known as secondary transactions. Deals have started to dry up amid estimates that portfolios will drop in value by as much as 50% in the first half of the year. Some investors have walked away from secondary deals that were close to being signed, according to Steve Lessar, co-head of secondaries and liquidity solutions in BlackRock Inc.’s Private Equity Partners business.

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