Establishment of JPY 20bn Japan Private Equity Opportunity 2024 for secondary investment in private equity funds
WM Partners and A.I. Capital (AIC) have jointly established the “Japan Private Equity Opportunity 2024 Investment Limited Partnership”. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and the Development Bank of Japan have joined the Fund as investors.
The Fund primarily targets secondary investments in private equity funds, including the acquisition of fund interests and investments in continuation funds. It is the successor to the “Japan Private Equity Opportunity 2021 Investment Limited Partnership” established in September 2021. The Fund will be operated collaboratively, with WM and key members from both WM and AIC serving as general partners, and AIC acting as the investment advisor. To address the growing demand for domestic secondary transactions, the Fund aims to reach a total size of over 20 billion yen. In addition to SMBC and DBJ, multiple investors have already participated, surpassing the scale of the previous fund.
Since the establishment of the previous fund, the partners have focused on creating a domestic secondary market by providing liquidity opportunities to investors. As a result, both “acquisition of fund interests from domestic LPs” and “acquisition of interests in funds primarily investing in Japan” account for over 80% of the previous fund’s investment performance. The partners have also contributed to the realization of liquidity structures led by fund managers through investments in continuation funds, steadily building a track record of secondary transactions in Japan.
Currently, the Japanese government is promoting the expansion of the domestic private equity market to realize its vision of becoming an “asset management powerhouse.” However, the macroeconomic environment has become increasingly uncertain due to global policy interest rate fluctuations and increased stock market volatility. In this context, secondary investments that expand options for both LPs and GPs are expected to see increased opportunities for utilization.
WM and AIC will continue to lead the domestic secondary market by providing appropriate liquidity opportunities and beneficial liquidity structures to LPs and GPs, primarily in Japan, through secondary investments. We aim to contribute to the development of the private equity industry ecosystem.
SMBC and DBJ, through their investment in this Fund following the previous one, will strive to invigorate the secondary transaction market. By enhancing liquidity, the partners aim to encourage domestic investors to enter the PE market and expand the investor base, thereby contributing to the further development of the domestic PE market by increasing the scale of risk money supply in Japan.
Overview of the Fund
- Name: Japan Private Equity Opportunity 2024 Investment Limited Partnership
- General Partners: WM Partners and key members of WM Partners and A.I. Capital
- Investment Advisor: A.I. Capital
- Target Fund Size: 20 billion yen
- Fund Duration: 10 years
- Additional Fundraising Period (Planned): Until the end of July 2025
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