The New York City pension system completed a $5 billion private equity secondary sale to Blackstone Inc., the comptroller’s office announced Tuesday.
The sale, initiated in December 2024 and finalized this month, includes stakes with 75 asset managers across 125 funds and 450 individual commitments. The transaction is one of the largest pension-led secondaries sales in U.S. history, according to the comptroller’s office.
“In an uncertain market, this secondary sale is a win for New York City’s public servants and retirees,” said NYC Comptroller Brad Lander in a statement. “By streamlining our portfolios, we’re ensuring the long-term health of these pension systems while maintaining our commitment to delivering retirement security for over 750,000 teachers, firefighters, sanitation workers, police officers, and other public employees.”
The comptroller’s office oversees the city’s five pension systems: the Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York; the New York City Employees’ Retirement System; the New York City Police Pension Fund; the New York City Fire Pension Fund; and the Board of Education Retirement System of the City of New York. The five plans collectively manage $279.14 billion in assets, as of March 31.
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The sale attracted interest from more than 80 potential bidders, according to a statement from the comptroller’s office.
Transaction volume in the secondaries market has increased recently, as private equity exits have slowed and deal activity has come to a standstill. As portfolio companies are being held for longer, limited partners are turning to secondaries to, in some cases, access liquidity by offloading their stakes in private equity funds.
“Importantly, the sale was not liquidity driven, but rather a strategic realignment of the New York City pension systems’ private equity portfolio to position it for strong long-term performance across a core group of asset managers,” the comptroller’s office said. “The sale reflects the New York City pension systems’ proactive approach to portfolio management and value creation.”
Other private-equity investors, including the endowments of both Harvard University and Yale University, are also reportedly shopping portfolios in the secondary market, as they face cuts to federal funding and other challenges.
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Tags: Blackstone, Brad Lander, NYC
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