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Goldman Sachs invests in liqueurs
Lucas Bols, which owns Galliano and Bols, has swapped one private equity backer for another as part of a €1bn secondary deal. The transaction is the result of a decision by Royal Bank of Scotland, Banco Santander and Fortis (which recently bought ABN Amro) to sell their interests in AAC Capital Partners’ (the Dutch bank’s former private equity arm) older portfolio of investments.
The portfolio, which includes a mixture of investments in different industry sectors, was bought by a Goldman Sachs-led consortium including Alpinvest, the Dutch fund-of-funds, and the Canada Pension Plan.
The portfolio was originally valued at €700m by AAC, but was sold for 10-20% below fair value. This is not unusual in the private equity secondaries market, where investors can often buy a second-hand portfolio at a discounted price, without paying onerous fees.
The secondaries market may reap rewards from the credit crunch as institutional investors, looking to raise cash or diversify their assets, begin to sell their interests in buy-out funds.
Fionnuala Synnott, 13.08.08