HarbourVest assets rise by $18m

HarbourVest Global Private Equity's net asset value has gained $18 million since its December 2007 listing on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange.

The publicly listed fund, which invests almost exclusively in Boston-based private parent company HarbourVest Partners’ funds of funds, has amassed a net asset value of $848 million, or $10.22 a share, during the six-month period ending 31 July.

However, the latest figure shows a 1.6 percent drop from the $862 million NAV reported at the end of January, according to the firm’s unaudited semi-annual results.

The drop was attributed to lower valuations for privately-held companies within HarbourVest Partners-managed funds, in part due to sector-wide declines. The firm said such losses were offset by gains for some HarbourVest funds like HarbourVest International Private Equity Partners IV-Partnership Fund, which formed in 2001 to make venture and buyout investments in non-US markets like Europe and Asia.

HVPE has so far enjoyed its best returns on the more mature HarbourVest funds formed in 1998, 1999 and 2001, as well as the active Dover Street VII, which is investing in secondary deals in North America, Europe and other key markets. It most recently committed $156 million to its 20th HarbourVest fund, HarbourVest Private Equity Partners VI, raising the amount of its total private equity exposure to $1.6 billion.

The firm's largest fund commitments include $209 million to HarbourVest Partners IV and $137 million to HarbourVest Partners VII.

The firm’s portfolio is 61 percent US-based, a 3 percent increase from the end of January, while Europe accounts for 31 percent and Asia for 5 percent. Venture assets represent 41 percent of its portfolio, medium buyouts 29 percent, small buyouts 20 percent and large buyouts 8 percent.