CPP Investments, one of the biggest investors in private equity globally, acquired stakes in two funds and two co-investments managed by a healthcare-focused GP as part of a stapled deal, Secondaries Investor can report.
The Toronto-headquartered pension fun invested $220 million to acquire the funds and stakes managed by Avista Healthcare Partners, according to its first quarter fiscal year 2025 report, published 14 August.
Avista invests in high-growth mid-market product and technology healthcare companies in Europe and North America, according to the release.
A source familiar with the deal confirmed the transaction was stapled to Avista Healthcare Partners VI, which closed on $1.5 billion in March, according to affiliate title Private Equity International data.
Fund VI launched in 2022 and exceeded its $1.25 billion target, PEI data shows.
Stapled ratios overall for GP-leds increased slightly last year, with buyers committing 1 primary dollar for every 2.9 dollars of secondaries capital, according to Campbell Lutyens‘ 2024 Secondary Market Overview. This was up from 2.6 secondaries dollars the prior year.
Last year’s figure is still down from prior years: in 2019 and 2020, buyers saw stapled deals less favourably, requiring 3.9 and 3.7 dollars of secondaries capital, respectively, for every 1 dollar of primary capital, per Campbell Lutyens data.
This is not the first time Avista has benefitted from a stapled deal. In 2017, the firm ran a tender offer on three funds: the $2 billion Avista Capital Partners I, the $1.8 billion Avista Capital Partners II and the $1.5 billion Avista Capital Partners III. Funds II and III both closed below their $2 billion targets, PEI data shows. As part of the process, secondaries buyers were required to commit primary capital to the firm’s fourth flagship fund, Avista Capital Partners IV. Fund IV closed on $775 million, exceeding its $500 million target.
Coller Capital was the backer of that process on Avista’s three funds, Secondaries Investor previously reported.
Separate spokespeople for CPP Investments and Avista declined to comment for this story.
– Adam Le contributed to this story
