POBA selects 7 global private equity fund managers for $300 mn

The Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA) has picked seven global private equity fund houses to invest $300 million in five different strategies, according to investment banking sources on May 18.

Details are as follows: 

- Private debt ($50 million each): Ares Management L.P. & London-based Alcentra

(Earlier this year Alcentra received a $30 million private debt mandate from POBA, separately.)

- Buyouts ($40 million each): Apollo Global Management & Sweden-based EQT Partners

- Co-investments ($40 million): HarbourVest Partners

(In 2016, HarbourVest won a secondary investment mandate from POBA for an undisclosed sum.)

- Funds of funds ($40 million): Neuberger Berman

- Secondaries ($40 million): Goldman Sachs

The committed capital to blind-pool fund managers is larger than last year’s $200 million entrusted to five foreign private equity fund managers.

POBA, a savings fund for South Korea’s local government officials, began the screening process for the mandates last March.

It followed its commitment of $120 million to five private debt fund managers, including Alcentra which announced the final close of its second European direct lending fund for €4.3billion in March.

Both Ares Management and Alcentra, which secured the private debt mandates for $50 million respectively, also received €30 million each in 2015 from South Korea’s Government Employees Pension Service for senior debt investments in Europe.

By Donghun Lee and Daehun Kim

daepun@hankyung.com