Silver Lake Partners VI, the latest flagship fund from private equity tech investor Silver Lake—which earlier this spring invested $1 billion in real estate disruptor Airbnb alongside multi-asset class private investor Sixth Street—is reported to have blown past early fundraising targets.
According to a report in Private Equity International, citing a Securities & Exchange Form D filing submitted on August 14, Silver Lake Partners VI has already surpassed $18 billion in commitments, despite—or perhaps, because of—market dislocations due to covid-19.
Reuters reported upon the fund’s launch in April that Silver Lake would seek upwards of $16 billion for the fund, a target that appears conservative in hindsight.
Silver Lake Partners VI will pursue 15-25 large-scale investments in companies within the technology, technology-enabled and related growth industries. With initial equity investments between $400 million-$1.25 billion, the firm will focus on buyout transactions, structured minority investments and acquisition finance and debt investments.
Investors include the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS), one of the largest public pension funds in the United States and an existing Silver Lake client, which has committed up to $300 million.
Doubling down on deals
Late last month, Silver Lake announced that it had entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire a majority stake in French financial services giant Group Meilleurtaux from the West Street Capital Partners VII fund managed by the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division.
And since May, Silver Lake has made two separate investments totaling over $1 billion in India telecom Jio Platforms, a subsidiary of India’s most richly valued firm, the multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries. Silver Lake’s redoubled Jio play put the firm alongside Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and the increasingly visible global telecom investor Facebook as major shareholders.
Silver Lake has over $60 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital. Its portfolio collectively generates more than $230 billion in annual revenue. Its own shareholders include investment manager Neuberger Berman, which holds a minority stake through its alternative investments unit Dyal Capital Partners.