Partners Group

Our Quarterly Liquid Credit Market Commentary presents the latest data on the loan markets. In Q3 2024, the global loan markets remained active, with loan repricing and maturity extensions driving the pace. Click the link below to read the full paper: https://lnkd.in/eBXQzWbP

At Partners Group, we are built differently to build differently. Sometimes, we take that quite literally. In August 2021, we broke ground on our new HQ in Zug, Switzerland. Now, the excitement is mounting as we prepare to open the doors to our new campus on 31 October. Check out the video below to see why!

Our portfolio company Żabka Polska, a leading chain of convenience stores across Poland, began trading on the Warsaw Stock Exchange last week. This follows the pricing on 10 October 2024 of its initial public offering ("IPO") of 300,000,000 common shares at PLN 21.50 per share. Partners Group invested in Zabka in 2019, acquiring a minority stake from majority owner CVC Capital Partners, on behalf of our clients. Through this IPO, Partners Group will have partially realized its investment and will remain a significant shareholder in the company.   Zabka has more than 10,500 stores, supplemented by 24/7 autonomous unmanned Zabka Nano Stores, as well as an advanced digital offering. Zabka's business is supported by its logistics platform, which includes eight distribution centers, 19 cross-docking facilities, and dedicated dark store and dark kitchen infrastructure.   Pascal Jean-Noël Noth, Managing Director, Partners Group, says: "In Zabka, we saw a company with strong foundations, a loyal customer base, and a compelling growth strategy that is built around making people's lives easier. Zabka's outstanding management team has successfully steered the company through Covid, inflation, and supply chain disruption, and we are proud to continue to be part of the company's success story."   You can read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/e6qTp-Gc

For anyone who missed our Global Co-Head of Private Wealth, Robert Collins, in his panel on 'The Case for Evergreen Solutions' at the CAIS Summit yesterday, see below for a deep dive on the topic that was recorded on the sidelines.

Last week Partners Group had the pleasure of hosting the inaugural PG Women's Academy for Merrill Lynch financial advisors at our Denver campus. While we regularly run PG Academies to share our private markets knowledge with financial advisors, this time we developed sessions specifically for women financial advisors to meet leaders from both firms and network with their peers. Like Partners Group, Merrill Lynch has a high focus on fostering a community to empower women throughout its organization. Partners Group and Merrill Lynch leaders shared their insights on private markets, with keynote speeches by Anne Lester, a member of the Partners Group Board of Directors, and sessions with trailblazers who drive our value-creation efforts. Our event provided attendees with a deeper understanding of how alternatives can support their clients' financial goals, and created a space for them to network amongst each other, fostering connections and encouraging collaboration.

We're back today for the final post in our series exploring lessons in evergreen investing. 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 # 𝟓 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 In public markets, valuing a portfolio daily is the norm. Private markets do not operate on this frequency, which may present a challenge for evergreens. An important component of our investment monitoring process is the ongoing valuation of our private market investments. Many funds will post the net asset value (NAV) of their portfolios every month. However, how this pricing is determined may vary significantly by different managers. We think three factors are key to getting this right: • Evergreens require more frequent valuation assessments compared to traditional closed-end funds to align with the frequency at which liquidity is provided to investors. • A manager must have the experience to assess valuation-relevant events in real-time and reflect them in the valuation of a portfolio as appropriate. This is especially important for primary and secondary investments, where the manager relies on quarterly assessments conducted by the owner of the assets. • While being in control of the valuation process, a manager should engage independent third-party valuation experts to verify its assessments. This helps ensure objectivity and transparency in the process. Partners Group conducts monthly independent valuations of its underlying investments, employing a fair market valuation process compliant with IFRS and US GAAP. This process was initially introduced in 2003, and we have continually refined it based on feedback from our auditors. This post marks the end of our Five Lessons from 20+ Years in Evergreens series. Stay tuned for more insights about private markets investing from Partners Group! Visit our website for more: https://lnkd.in/e94d2WwR

Yesterday, Partners Group's portfolio company KinderCare Learning Companies, a leading early childhood education services provider in the US, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, following the pricing of its initial public offering ("IPO"). KinderCare's stock is listed under the ticker "KLC". Partners Group acquired KinderCare in 2015, supporting KinderCare’s business transformation to optimize center footprint, drive compound same-center revenue growth, and increase same-center occupancy. Under our ownership, KinderCare has also invested in its curriculum, human capital, and technology infrastructure to accelerate growth and strengthen its commitment to quality. Joel Schwartz, Partner, Private Equity Services Vertical, Partners Group, adds: "KinderCare is a leading early childhood education provider with an unwavering focus on delivering the highest quality service. The growing awareness of the critical nature of early childhood education in the US should help underpin demand in the years ahead." Read the press release here: https://lnkd.in/em8eD5Ac

Partners Group has agreed to acquire a portfolio of prime residential properties in Milan, on behalf of our clients. The Portfolio has a Gross Asset Value (GAV) of over EUR 260 million and consists of six standing assets with 590 units. Following completion of this acquisition, Partners Group's total residential property portfolio in Italy will have a combined GAV of around EUR 800 million. Marco Denari, Member of Management, Real Estate Europe, Partners Group, says: "This acquisition is further confirmation of our thematic conviction in Milan's prime residential market. The Portfolio provides uplift potential, and its underlying rents can be re-aligned to market following a comprehensive refurbishment program. Our transformational value creation plan will focus on updating the underlying assets to be in line with our existing modern and amenitized offering in the city. Partners Group's local presence will help us stay in touch with changing tenant demands, efficiently manage these assets, and create value." Read the press release here: https://lnkd.in/eAyFrEEX #RealEstate

Andre Burba, a Managing Director in our Infrastructure Americas team, spoke to PE Hub about Partners Group's recent investment in Gateway Fleets, a provider of electrification solutions for logistics fleet operators in the US, on behalf of our clients. Andre talked about how Gateway fits with our investment thesis for the electric vehicle space, why we think Gateway has a winning business model, and our value creation plan. You can read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/ezd38Sfp #Infrastructure

Here's the next topic in our series about evergreen investing. 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 #𝟒 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬 The importance of having a diversified evergreen portfolio includes a specific dimension: the maturity of the underlying investments. Here is what we mean by this: • 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬 – those investments made more than two years ago – are key contributors to a fund's performance. They compound returns at a relatively high rate and are likely to be divested sooner. • 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬 represent investments made less than two years ago and represent the fund's future return prospects, functioning like seedlings for long-term performance. An overallocation to the latter may lower near-term performance and impair liquidity. Concentration on the former can compromise the future of the fund and lead to excess idle cash balances. Vintage concentration can occur, for example, when there is rapid fundraising without corresponding investment pacing. In practice, a manager who is quickly raising a substantial amount of capital may be forced to make several investments in a brief timeframe to fully deploy the funds. This can result in concentration and affect the fund's overall diversification and risk concentration. So, what must investors pay attention to when choosing an evergreen? Check if the manager adheres to a consistent fundraising and investment pace – not too fast, not too slow. At Partners Group, we limit net subscriptions from investors to 25% in order to build balanced portfolios. See the vintage chart on the second slide below to find out what Partners Group's evergreen diversification typically looks like. Visit our website to learn more: https://lnkd.in/etjvZk-y