Last checked at 
26 Apr 2012 07:00
26th April 2012
Pantheon International Participations PLC (the "Company") Net Asset Value at 31st March 2012
The Board of Pantheon International Participations PLC ("PIP"), the quotedprivate equity fund-of-funds investment trust, today announces an unaudited netasset value ("NAV") per share of 1,140.1p at 31st March 2012, an increase of0.5% on the NAV per share at 31st December 2011.Net assets were £814.2m at 31st March 2012. Portfolio values proved resilientfollowing the global public market downturn in the summer of 2011. However,this downturn led to a slowdown in exit activity during the third and fourthquarters and consequently the level of distributions the Company received waslower than in the previous quarter. Given the maturity of the Company's assets,net portfolio cash flows remained healthily positive with distributionsexceeding calls by £15m in the quarter.Underlying net portfolio gains of £14m were offset by £16m of currency lossesresulting mainly from the weakening of the US dollar. Interest and expenses of£3m were offset by income of £3m. The Company bought back in the market, forinvestment purposes, £10m (at market value) of shares during the quarter. Thesebuybacks resulted in a total uplift to NAV per share of approximately 8.9p(0.8% relative to the 31st December 2011 NAV per share).
Valuation Policy
PIP's valuation policy for private equity funds is based on the latest accountsproduced by the managers of the funds in which PIP has holdings. In the case ofthe valuation as at 31st March 2012, the majority of valuations (accounting forcirca 93% by value) are dated 31st December 2011. Private equity funds maycontain a proportion of quoted shares from time to time, for example where theunderlying company investments have been taken public but the holdings have notyet been sold. The quoted market holdings at the date of the latest fundaccounts are reviewed and compared with the value of those holdings at the yearend. If there has been a material movement in the value of these holdings, thevaluation is adjusted to reflect this.
Cash Flow
During the quarter ended 31st March 2012, PIP received distributions from private equity assets of £29m and invested £14m through drawdowns on commitments to underlying private equity funds. Net cash inflow from the portfolio during the quarter was £15m.
New Commitments and Share Buybacks
During the quarter PIP made three new commitments to secondary interests inaggregate amounting to £17m, which overall, were approximately 70% funded.Undrawn commitments relating to these secondary interests amounted to £5m. Thenew secondary interests are focused predominantly on buyout funds based in theUSA. Additionally, since the end of the quarter the Company has acquired an £8msecondary commitment (approximately 60% funded) to a USA-based buyout fund.
For new investment commitments the Company will continue to emphasise investments in secondary transactions and will also occasionally participate in co-investments alongside leading private equity managers selected by Pantheon.
The Board will consider further share buybacks as a means of enhancing NAV pershare as an alternative to new investments whilst its shares continue to tradeat such historically high discounts.In the quarter, PIP bought back for cancellation, a total of 230,000 ordinaryshares at a price of 653p per share and 1,215,000 redeemable shares at anaverage price of 697p per share. These transactions were executed at an overalldiscount of approximately 39% to the 31st December 2011 NAV, and resulted in atotal uplift to NAV per share of approximately 8.9p.Since August 2011, the Company has deployed a total of £27.6m in implementingshare buybacks, acquiring 5.4% of PIP's total shares outstanding prior to anyshare buybacks.Realisation ActivityDistributions received by the Company from portfolio realisations were lowerrelative to the previous quarter reflecting the slowdown in exit activityfollowing the downturn in public markets in the summer of 2011. However, giventhe maturity of the portfolio, distributions remained at a healthy level.Examples of distributions in the quarter include (see note 1):
* In February 2012 UnitedHealthcare completed its acquisition of XL Health
Corporation, a sponsor of Medicare Advantage health plans with a primary
focus on Medicare recipients with special needs, such as those with chronic
illness and those eligible for Medicaid ("dual eligibles"). PIP held XL
Health through MatlinPatterson Global Opportunities III Fund and the
acquisition was completed for a return in excess of 5x invested capital.
The distribution received by PIP was £1.7m.
* In January 2012 Avista Capital Partners agreed to sell BioReliance for
$350m in cash to Sigma-Aldrich Corporation. BioReliance provides critical
services that include biologics testing, specialised toxicology and animal
health testing to pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, diagnostics, and other
life science clients worldwide. The exit achieved a 2.6x gross return for
Avista Capital. The distribution received by PIP was £0.9m.
Call Activity
The Company continued to invest through calls from its undrawn commitments. Examples of calls in the quarter include:
* In February 2012, Doughty Hanson acquired USP Hospitales ("USP"), the
Spanish hospitals operator, from Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland for €
355m which represented a 9x multiple of forecast 2012 EBITDA. USP is the
third largest private hospital operator in Spain, with a market share of
5.5% in 2010, and it is focused on the provision of hospital services to
the private insurance and self-pay segments. USP operates 12 hospitals, 1
specialist clinic and 22 auxiliary clinics, with a total of over 1,200
beds. The call paid by PIP relating to USP was £1.4m.
* In January 2012, Hutton Collins supported the acquisition of a majority
interest in Wellington boot maker Hunter Boot Limited by Searchlight
Capital Partners. Hunter has expanded its product offering in recent years
into areas including leather boots and other footwear, knitted accessories
and bags. Hunter's positioning as a heritage British brand, with a history
dating back more than 150 years, has given it market-leading positions in
the UK and US markets, and its products are today sold in more than 30
countries worldwide. The call paid by PIP relating to Hunter was £0.9m.
Outstanding Commitments
Outstanding commitments to investments stood at £199m at 31st March 2012, calculated using exchange rates at that date. Drawdowns of outstanding commitments typically occur over a period of several years.
Cash Balance and Bank Loan Facility
As at 31st March 2012, PIP had cash balances equivalent to a total of approximately £46m.
In addition, the Company's multi-currency revolving credit facility agreement("the Bank Loan Facility"), comprising an $82m US dollar facility and a €57meuro facility, was completely undrawn. The Bank Loan Facility expires in June2015.
Based on exchange rates at 31st March 2012, PIP's total available liquid financing capacity, comprising its cash and bank facility, stood at £145m.
Foreign Exchange Exposure
At 31st March 2012, the value of the private equity investment assets stood at£773m. Of the private equity investment assets at PIP's holding level, 69% wererepresented by funds reporting values denominated in US dollars, 24%denominated in euros, 6% denominated in sterling and 1% denominated in othercurrencies. Of the 69% of investment assets denominated in US dollars,approximately 5% (expressed as a proportion of PIP's total portfolio) areinvested in funds investing mainly in Europe and approximately 9% (expressed asa proportion of PIP's total portfolio) in funds investing mainly in Asia. Inaddition to the funds reporting values denominated in sterling, many of theeuro-denominated funds have investments in the UK.Note 1The distribution or call amounts above may include small amounts relating toother companies or items. Ends NOTESPIP
Pantheon International Participations ("PIP") is a London quoted investmenttrust, managed by Pantheon, one of the longest-established internationalprivate equity fund-of-funds managers, investing in both primary funds andsecondary transactions. With investments in private equity funds, covering latestage buyouts to early stage technology, PIP enables individuals as well asinstitutions to gain access to a substantial portfolio of unquoted companies inthe USA, the UK, Continental Europe and Asia, within funds managed byexperienced private equity managers. PIP may occasionally acquire directholdings in unquoted companies, usually where a vendor is seeking to sell acombined portfolio of funds and direct holdings. PIP's investment policy alsoextends to investing directly in companies where there is a private equitymanager well known to the Company investing on the same terms.
Pantheon
Pantheon has been active in private equity since 1982 and is now one of the world's leading private equity fund-of-funds managers, with £15.2bn under management (as at 31st December 2011). Pantheon has offices in London, San Francisco, New York and Hong Kong, and has made investments in over 1,000 funds globally.
For more information please visit PIP's website at www.pipplc.com or contact:
Andrew Lebus or Alexis Barling
Pantheon
020 7484 6200
Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any websiteaccessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) isincorporated into, or forms part of this announcement.
Pantheon International Telephone +44 (0) 20 Participations PLC 7484 6200 Norfolk House Facsimile +44 (0)20 7484 6201 31 St. James's Square E-mail: London SW1Y 4JR pip.ir@pantheon.com Internet: www.pipplc.com
Registered office: Beaufort House, 51 New North Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 4EP. Incorporated in England number: 2147984.
An investment company under section 833 of the Companies Act 2006. Managed by Pantheon Ventures (UK) LLP.
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