Ardian, a private investment firm, has raised $30 billion for its ninth-generation secondaries platform, marking the largest such fund to date and reinforcing its position in the secondaries market. This fund surpasses the $19 billion raised for its eighth-generation platform in 2020, bringing Ardian’s Secondaries & Primaries Assets Under Management to $97 billion.
The fundraising attracted over 465 investors from 44 countries, including pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, and high-net-worth individuals. Private wealth clients contributed 22% of the capital, up from 11% in the previous fund.
Ardian’s strategy focuses on acquiring stakes in private equity assets, primarily in North America and Western Europe, providing liquidity solutions to institutional investors and general partners. The firm’s Secondaries & Primaries team comprises over 100 investment professionals across 14 offices, utilizing a proprietary database covering 1,600 funds from more than 650 general partners to inform investment decisions.
The firm has already deployed half of the new fund across 17 transactions, each averaging $2 billion. Ardian anticipates that 2025 will see increased activity in the secondaries market, driven by institutional investors integrating secondary sales into their private market strategies.
“We are actively capitalizing on a generational buying opportunity for secondaries,” said Mark Benedetti, Executive President and Co-Head of Secondaries at Ardian. “With the continued exponential growth in private markets, investors increasingly look to secondary buyers to help them actively manage their private equity portfolios.”
Vladimir Colas, Executive Vice President and Co-Head of Secondaries at Ardian, added, “The past 12 months marked a record-breaking year for secondaries volume. Using the secondary market for liquidity and portfolio rebalancing is no longer a one-off decision but now an integral part of institutional investors’ private markets investment strategies.”
This reflects a broader trend in the private equity sector, where investors seek liquidity solutions amid market volatility and extended holding periods.
