(Reuters) - Coller Capital on Thursday said it aimed to raise 1.5 billion yuan ($218.12 million) for its first yuan-denominated fund that taps into China's fledging secondaries market of interests in private equity funds and stakes in private firms.
The London-based private capital secondaries manager said it has completed the first close of the fund. It did not disclose the size.
Private equity funds typically begin investing after their first-close, when they have received an initial round of commitments from investors.
"We expect to deploy the full range of secondary capabilities in the RMB-denominated (yuan) market," a Coller Capital media representative said.
These will include – but not be limited to – the acquisition of LP positions, GP-led secondaries, structured secondary transactions and direct secondaries, the spokesperson said, referring to different types of private equity secondaries investments.
The private equity secondaries market allows investors in private equity funds and private companies to make early exits to free their capital.
Coller Capital was one of the first to specialise in buying positions in private equity funds from the funds' investors (LPs), as well as acquiring portfolios of stakes in private companies from their original backers (GPs).
Investment firm Hamilton Lane opened its Shanghai office in February after raising a yuan-denominated secondary fund for private markets through China's Qualified Foreign Limited Partner (QFLP) structure.
($1 = 6.8768 Chinese yuan renminbi)