HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE) has launched the $400m (£298m) tender offer that enabled it to comfortably pass its first continuation vote with the support of activists Saba and Asset Value Investors in July.
The £2.2bn investment company said the “unprecedented” return of capital, the largest by a London-listed private equity fund, would enable shareholders to sell up to $400m of shares at a 10% discount to their net asset value (NAV) at 30 September.
NAV per share fell 1.6% to $60.24 (£45.41) last month which means the tender price will be £40.68p, assuming the tender offer is fully subscribed, which is well above the £32.65 at which the shares closed last night.
The tender offer will cost £560,000 and is the latest move by HVPE to narrow its 28% share price discount. Two years ago, it established a distribution pool to fund an ongoing programme of share buybacks and last year sold $300m of fund investments to bolster the return of capital to shareholders.
The tender offer requires shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting in Guernsey on 16 November. Shareholders who want to take advantage of the high tender price have until 19 November to say how many shares they want to sell. The shares will be purchased by the company on 25 November and money paid out by 2 December.
The announcement came in half-year results to 31 July showing a modest 2.4% gain in NAV, although shareholders made 6.4% as the wide share price discount narrowed to 25%. That took their 12-month total return to 23.1%.
HVPE saw its strongest gains of 6.8% in venture and growth equity investments, while stakes in “secondary” funds bought from other investors rose 5.3%. Investments in North America, which accounts for 61% of the portfolio, gained 5.9%.
The company, which invests through the private equity platform of Boston-based HarbourVest, saw 258 M&A transactions and flotations in its portfolio, a rise 6% on a year ago, with its exits achieved at a weighted average uplift of 48% to carrying value.
Efforts to rein in the discount have improved long-term performance. According to the company, HVPE generated an underlying total return of 250% in dollar terms in the ten years to 31 July, beating the 236% of the FTSE All World index. Shareholders received 262% in sterling.
Chair Ed Warner said: “Conditions for private equity remained challenging in the first half of 2026, as a combination of macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds continued to weigh on the market. While many private equity firms found exits challenging, resulting in lower-than-expected cash returns to investors, several of our individual portfolio companies performed exceptionally well, particularly in the AI sector. These successes provide grounds for optimism and reinforce our confidence in the long-term outlook for private equity.”
Our view
Richard Williams, senior analyst at QuotedData, said: “HVPE’s results show encouraging signs of improvement in private equity liquidity, with distributions exceeding capital calls and secondary sales generating substantial additional cash. The 48% average uplift achieved on portfolio exits also provides welcome validation of underlying valuations, although NAV growth of 2.4% remains modest. The $400m tender offer should go a long way to addressing the persistent discount to NAV, with it priced at around a 10% discount to NAV compared with the prevailing market discount of around 25%, whilst also offering shareholders an opportunity to realise part of their investment and delivering NAV accretion for those who remain. Combined with ongoing buybacks, which added 1% to NAV during the half year, the commitment to return 5–10% of NAV annually demonstrates a more shareholder-focused approach to capital allocation. With exit activity showing signs of recovery, HVPE appears increasingly well positioned to balance capital returns with long-term portfolio growth.”
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