Key Takeaways
- • Pantheon held the final close of Pantheon Global Secondaries Fund VIII LP and associated vehicles (PGSF VIII) with $6 billion in commitments, 71% above its $3.5 billion target and the largest private equity secondaries fundraise in the firm's history.
- • The fund is nearly twice the $3.25 billion raised for Pantheon Global Secondaries Fund VII in November 2023, with a significant share of new capital coming from Asia and the Middle East investors who had not previously backed the program.
- • PGSF VIII targets LP-led and GP-led secondary transactions, concentrating on buyout funds and companies in the global middle market.
- • Pantheon deployed about $3.3 billion across 17 private equity secondary transactions in 2025, a record for the firm, and closed a $1 billion private equity CFO in May 2026.
- • Jefferies reported record first-half 2026 secondary volume of $118 billion, with GP-led transactions at $62 billion, up 32% year over year.
Summary
Pantheon has held the final close of Pantheon Global Secondaries Fund VIII LP and its associated vehicles (PGSF VIII) with $6 billion of commitments, 71% above the fund's $3.5 billion target. The raise is the largest private equity secondaries fundraise in Pantheon's history and nearly double the $3.25 billion the firm raised for Pantheon Global Secondaries Fund VII in November 2023. A significant share of the new capital came from investors in Asia and the Middle East who had not previously backed the program.
The fund will pursue both LP-led transactions, purchasing fund interests from limited partners seeking to sell before a fund winds down, and GP-led transactions, typically continuation vehicles in which Pantheon backs a sponsor moving portfolio companies into a new fund to extend the hold and finance further growth, including add-ons. PGSF VIII concentrates on buyout funds and companies in the global middle market and aims to build a portfolio diversified by vintage year, general partner and geography. Pantheon sources deals through its sponsor relationships and wider private equity platform, which it says gives investors access to general partners whose funds are otherwise difficult to access.
Amyn Hassanally, partner and global head of private equity secondaries at Pantheon, said the firm's GP relationships and decades of data on private equity funds and companies enable it to be disciplined about the assets it buys, particularly in the mid-market. Florence Dard, chief client officer at Pantheon, described the raise as the firm's largest private equity secondaries fundraise to date. The close follows a record year in which Pantheon deployed about $3.3 billion across 17 private equity secondary transactions in 2025. Pantheon has invested in secondaries since its first private equity secondaries investment in 1988. Its private equity platform manages about $41 billion of the firm's roughly $84 billion in assets under management. In May 2026, the firm also closed its first private equity collateralized fund obligation at $1 billion, above a $750 million target.
The raise comes as secondaries become a standard liquidity tool amid slow exits. According to Jefferies, total secondary volume reached a record $118 billion in the first half of 2026, with GP-led transactions accounting for $62 billion, up 32% from $47 billion in the first half of 2025. Jefferies expects 2026 to surpass the record $240 billion of volume recorded in 2025. Buyers are increasingly splitting between large single-asset continuation vehicle investors and diversified mid-market fund-interest programs such as Pantheon's. Pantheon invests across private equity, infrastructure and private credit, from primary commitments to co-investments and secondaries, and is headquartered in London and New York City with 10 other offices across the US, Europe and Asia.
The fund will pursue both LP-led transactions, purchasing fund interests from limited partners seeking to sell before a fund winds down, and GP-led transactions, typically continuation vehicles in which Pantheon backs a sponsor moving portfolio companies into a new fund to extend the hold and finance further growth, including add-ons. PGSF VIII concentrates on buyout funds and companies in the global middle market and aims to build a portfolio diversified by vintage year, general partner and geography. Pantheon sources deals through its sponsor relationships and wider private equity platform, which it says gives investors access to general partners whose funds are otherwise difficult to access.
Amyn Hassanally, partner and global head of private equity secondaries at Pantheon, said the firm's GP relationships and decades of data on private equity funds and companies enable it to be disciplined about the assets it buys, particularly in the mid-market. Florence Dard, chief client officer at Pantheon, described the raise as the firm's largest private equity secondaries fundraise to date. The close follows a record year in which Pantheon deployed about $3.3 billion across 17 private equity secondary transactions in 2025. Pantheon has invested in secondaries since its first private equity secondaries investment in 1988. Its private equity platform manages about $41 billion of the firm's roughly $84 billion in assets under management. In May 2026, the firm also closed its first private equity collateralized fund obligation at $1 billion, above a $750 million target.
The raise comes as secondaries become a standard liquidity tool amid slow exits. According to Jefferies, total secondary volume reached a record $118 billion in the first half of 2026, with GP-led transactions accounting for $62 billion, up 32% from $47 billion in the first half of 2025. Jefferies expects 2026 to surpass the record $240 billion of volume recorded in 2025. Buyers are increasingly splitting between large single-asset continuation vehicle investors and diversified mid-market fund-interest programs such as Pantheon's. Pantheon invests across private equity, infrastructure and private credit, from primary commitments to co-investments and secondaries, and is headquartered in London and New York City with 10 other offices across the US, Europe and Asia.
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