By Saeed Azhar
NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs' asset management said on Tuesday its alternatives unit has raised $11.7 billion across its latest private equity funds and related vehicles.
The fundraising included $9.6 billion for flagship fund West Street Capital Partners IX, $1.6 billion for its Asia-focused strategy West Street Asia Equity Partners I, and $500 million for related co-investment vehicles, it said in a statement.
WSCP IX, the ninth vintage of Goldman Sachs Alternatives’
flagship buyout business, raised capital from institutional and high-net-worth investors in North America, Europe and the Middle East, with significant commitments from Goldman Sachs and its employees.
The fund's investments include Schellman, a U.S. cybersecurity audit firm, Numantec, a European medical devices maker, and Excel Sports Management, a U.S. sports representation and marketing agency.
"Over one-third of the capital has been invested already. And the way you should think about that is you want to deploy this capital over, say, roughly four to four-and-a-half year period," Michael Bruun, global co-head of private equity, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, told Reuters.
He said the firm looks at a lot of companies with enterprise values between $500 million and about $2 to $3 billion, with plans to hold the investment between four and five years.
"We continue to be quite firm that we need to see value creation over that period and facilitate an exit over that period," he said.
Goldman Sachs Alternatives is separately raising capital for its dedicated pan-Asia private equity strategy focused on controlling stakes in middle-market investments, as well as select growth investments across the region.
Goldman Sachs Alternatives had $459 billion in assets under supervision as of June 30, with the goal to grow that to $750 billion by the end of 2030, the firm said.
(Reporting by Saeed Azhar)
