GLOBAL - Axa Private Equity has agreed to acquire a portfolio of buyout funds from OMERS Private Equity worth approximately $850m (€676m).

The deal will include a portfolio of 11 private equity fund investments and related unfunded commitments, and consist of predominantly North American and global funds.  
 
Paul Renaud, chief executive at OMERS Private Equity, said the deal had been consistent with its strategic shift towards direct investing, while Axa said the deal furthered its own strategy to offer liquidity to large institutions looking to "monetise" their private equity investments.

In June last year, Axa Private Equity acquired $1.7bn and $740m in private equity assets from Citigroup and Barclays, respectively.

Benoit Verbrugghe, senior managing director and head of North America at AXA Private Equity, also pointed out that his company had "excellent visibility" on the assets, given that it had been an existing investor in many of the funds.
 
OMERS Private Equity manages the private equity activities of OMERS, one of Canada's largest pension funds, and currently has more than $6.5bn of investments under management.