Wafra Inc., a New York-based alternative asset manager owned by the Public Institution for Social Security Fund, a public pension fund of Kuwait, announced Wednesday the completion of the purchase of a minority stake in Paris-based Ardian.
Ardian, with $192 billion in assets under management, offers investments across private equity, real assets and credit—with deep experience in the secondary market. In January, Ardian announced the launch of ASF IX, the largest secondaries fund ever, with $30 billion raised.
Wafra, which manages $28 billion in assets, stated it was exploring avenues to expand its exposure to secondaries and real assets, which led it to identify Ardian as an ideal strategic partner. Wafra is an active investor in general partner ownership stakes. Through the firm’s strategic partnerships program, Wafra makes direct investments in growing and established alternative investment managers.
Wafra’s prior purchases included an investment in tech-focused private equity firm Niobrara Capital; small- to-mid-cap European software investor Triple Private Equity; and Citation Capital, a private equity firm specializing in founder and family-led businesses.
Wafra has made such investments for more than a decade and, in 2018, announced the launch of the Capital Constellation platform, which invests in emerging managers alongside the Alaska Permanent Fund, the New York State Common Retirement Fund, parent pension fund PIFSS, and other large asset owners.
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