Bank of Ireland JV To Develop Buyout Fund

Kevin Dolan Paul Capital Top Tier Investments, a new joint venture formed by the Bank of Ireland Group and San Francisco’s Paul Capital Partners, will launch a buyout fund of funds this year.

Paul Capital Top Tier Investments, a new joint venture formed by the Bank of Ireland Group and San Francisco’s Paul Capital Partners, will launch a buyout fund of funds this year. David York, ceo of the JV and of Paul Capital, said he anticipates adding at least two portfolio managers by year-end to help manage the fund.Kevin Dolan, head of the Bank of Ireland Group, said the JV is also planning to build an emerging markets fund of funds in reaction to interest from clients. In addition, Paul Capital’s approximately $800 million venture capital fund of funds will become part of the JV. York said the JV is timely given that U.S. institutions’ allocations to private equity are growing to an average of 8% and even 10% from 6%. Before the JV, Bank of Ireland had no institutional assets at all in the private equity space. Paul Capital manages a $2.4 billion secondary program and has $800 million in health care royalties and revenue interests. They will remain separate from the JV.

The funds will target U.S. defined benefit plans, foundations and endowments. Dolan said pension funds have had a difficult time deciding which sub-sectors of the private equity market would be the best fit for them. “A lot of private equity funds out there are too general and don’t meet enough investor needs,” he said. “What separates us is our focus on niche areas.” The JV will work with each client to figure out which strategy would best fit its overall portfolio.

Phil Paul, founder and chairman of Paul Capital Partners, will direct his attention solely to this new joint venture. "[Paul] has a lot of clout in the private equity world,” Dolan said. “He was one of the first big investors in leveraged buyouts 20 years ago.”