Key Takeaways
- • Global private equity executives publicly defended continuation funds at Hong Kong's flagship investment summit on Wednesday, pushing back against limited partner skepticism.
- • Jonathan Sokoloff, managing partner at Leonard Green & Partners, acknowledged significant LP resistance to the structure, stating, "There are a lot of haters in the LP community," while predicting the vehicles "are here to stay."
- • The debate centers on the growing use of continuation funds as a liquidity mechanism, a structure that has drawn increasing scrutiny from investors.
Summary
Global private equity executives are mounting a defense of continuation funds, the increasingly popular vehicles used by sponsors to extend ownership of assets, as investor criticism of the structure grows. The comments were made at Hong Kong's flagship investment summit on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg.
Jonathan Sokoloff, managing partner at Leonard Green & Partners, acknowledged persistent resistance from limited partners. "There are a lot of haters in the LP community," he said, "But it's here to stay." His remarks signal that sponsors are aware of investor discomfort but expect the structure to remain a fixture of private equity fundraising and portfolio management.
The source material available for this story is limited, so the specific concerns raised by limited partners, the deal values involved, and the details of any particular continuation vehicles are not documented here. The exchange highlights an ongoing tension between general partners seeking liquidity solutions and LPs who have questioned conflicts of interest and valuation practices associated with these transactions.
Jonathan Sokoloff, managing partner at Leonard Green & Partners, acknowledged persistent resistance from limited partners. "There are a lot of haters in the LP community," he said, "But it's here to stay." His remarks signal that sponsors are aware of investor discomfort but expect the structure to remain a fixture of private equity fundraising and portfolio management.
The source material available for this story is limited, so the specific concerns raised by limited partners, the deal values involved, and the details of any particular continuation vehicles are not documented here. The exchange highlights an ongoing tension between general partners seeking liquidity solutions and LPs who have questioned conflicts of interest and valuation practices associated with these transactions.
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