Key Takeaways
- • Yale University is finalizing the sale of up to $2.5 billion of its private equity and venture capital assets, code-named "Project Gatsby," according to Bloomberg News.
- • The $41.4 billion endowment reportedly hired Evercore to solicit bids for a package of buyout and venture capital commitments, with an earlier sale under consideration of nearly $6 billion.
- • The New York pension fund characterized the transaction as a streamlining of investments, reducing "noncore" asset managers and reducing exposure to some private equity holdings.
- • Yale's endowment, run by Matt Mendelsohn, is pursuing the sale on the secondaries market, a move that reflects the broader institutional trend of secondary liquidity in private markets.
- • A separate report indicates HarbourVest Partners has emerged as the buyer for a roughly $1 billion portion of Yale's LP private equity stakes.
Summary
Yale University is finalizing the sale of up to $2.5 billion of its private equity and venture capital assets, code-named "Project Gatsby," Bloomberg News reported. The transaction is being run on the secondaries market, with the $41.4 billion endowment having hired Evercore to solicit bids for a package of buyout and venture capital commitments, according to people familiar with the matter. Earlier reporting indicated the endowment had weighed a portfolio sale of nearly $6 billion before narrowing the scope.
According to the reporting, the sale is part of a streamlining of the endowment's investments. The New York pension fund said the transaction reduces "noncore" asset managers and allows the fund to exit some private equity positions. Yale's endowment is led by Matt Mendelsohn, a protégé of the late David Swensen, whose embrace of private equity and venture capital has been widely emulated by other institutional investors.
Separately, a report indicates HarbourVest Partners has emerged as the buyer of a large sale of LP private equity stakes from Yale, with the portion described as roughly $1 billion. Yale spokesperson Marcella Rooney has previously confirmed the endowment is negotiating a sale of nearly $3 billion of its private equity portfolio on the secondaries market. Reporting on the final terms, including pricing and the closing timeline, was not available in the sources reviewed.
According to the reporting, the sale is part of a streamlining of the endowment's investments. The New York pension fund said the transaction reduces "noncore" asset managers and allows the fund to exit some private equity positions. Yale's endowment is led by Matt Mendelsohn, a protégé of the late David Swensen, whose embrace of private equity and venture capital has been widely emulated by other institutional investors.
Separately, a report indicates HarbourVest Partners has emerged as the buyer of a large sale of LP private equity stakes from Yale, with the portion described as roughly $1 billion. Yale spokesperson Marcella Rooney has previously confirmed the endowment is negotiating a sale of nearly $3 billion of its private equity portfolio on the secondaries market. Reporting on the final terms, including pricing and the closing timeline, was not available in the sources reviewed.
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