Harbourvest to buy Absolute Private Equity for £460 million

HarbourVest Partners has struck a $752 million deal to buy Swiss-based Absolute Private Equity.

The deal, worth $17.25 per share, has been arranged through HarbourVest-managed secondary funds and its closed-ended investment company HarbourVest Global Private Equity .

HarbourVest’s flagship secondary fund, Dover Street VII, is a global fund with $2.9 billion in assets under management. It makes secondary investments in venture capital, leveraged buyout, and other private equity assets, along with portfolios of operating companies and closed to new investment in April 2009.

Absolute, which is listed on the Swiss exchange, primarily invests in private funds across various sectors of the private equity market focusing on US, European and other international buyout and venture capital funds. The net asset value per share of Absolute was $24.16 as of 21 April 2011.

HarbourVest Partners managing director John Toomey said: 'HarbourVest’s secondary team is focused on finding unique transactions where it can provide solutions for private equity asset owners.

'We are pleased to be working on a cooperative basis with the board of Absolute. This is an attractive opportunity for HarbourVest-managed secondary funds and HVPE to acquire a significant stake in a portfolio of high-quality, global private equity assets.'