The Hong Kong Jockey Club is selling a portfolio of private markets funds stakes, in the latest in a run of LP-led secondaries sales to come out of the region in the past year.
The secretive organisation is seeking to offload a $500 million portfolio, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The investments were understood to have been made via “an investment trust” of the organisation, one of the sources said.
According to HKJC’s 2023-2024 Annual Report, the organisation had HK$18.78 billion ($2.39 billion; €2.03 billion) in alternative investments under its Contingency Fund investments as of 30 June 2024.
Secondaries Investor understands Jefferies is advising on the deal.
Founded in 1884, HKJC is a non-profit organisation, with its main businesses focused on providing horse racing, sporting and betting entertainment in Hong Kong, as well as private club membership. The organisation also manages a charities trust, which donates to support areas such as youth development and poverty alleviation, per its website.
HKJC’s sale comes amid several other potential disposals from China-based sellers. China Investment Corp had been mulling the sale of a concentrated private equity portfolio managed by US managers, Secondaries Investor reported in April. It was understood that a potential deal could lead to a much larger process, sources said at the time. That sale was reported to have been pulled, Bloomberg reported last month.
Institutions in other countries within the region have also been active within the market over the course of the year.
Last month, it emerged that Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, is seeking to offload a portfolio of fund stakes. The portfolio’s total net asset value is understood to be more than $1 billion, sources told Secondaries Investor. The portfolio includes Asia-Pacific growth and venture capital fund stakes, as well as some Africa-focused fund stakes. Employees Provident Fund of Malaysia is also in market with an LP-led process. The deal is understood to be around $1 billion in size.
Taiwanese insurance company Shin Kong Life has been offloading its private market investments in two separate sales, one involving an infrastructure portfolio, and another deal for UK-based credit specialist MV Credit’s MV Subordinated IV Feeder and another fund. Ardian and Blackstone Strategic Partners stepped up as buyers in the first transaction with Pantheon taking the second portfolio sale.
Taiwanese insurer Nan Shan Life Insurance is also shopping a portfolio, made up primarily of buyout interests with a NAV of around $1.5 billion. The total deal could be around $2 billion in size.
Asian funds represented 4 percent of the $87 billion of LP-led transaction volume seen last year, according to Jefferies’ year-end report. APAC sellers made up 8 percent of LP transaction volume in 2024, according to a report from Evercore.