Maples and Calder, the law firm under the Maples Group umbrella, has steered StepStone Group through the launch, final close and financing of a structured solutions vehicle that drew US$3.1 billion in commitments, with the bulk of the money heading into private market secondaries.
The vehicle stands as the biggest of its kind in the market so far, opening a door for institutional investors to tap into StepStone’s secondaries platform through what the firm pitched as a flexible, capital-efficient route.
A mixed bench of investment funds and finance lawyers handled the Cayman Islands side of the deal. Investment funds partners Jeremy Bomford and Caroline Heal took point, joined by of counsel Sasha Hunte and associate Ronan Murphy, with finance partners Anthony Philp and Robin Gibb and associate Matthew Grenfell filling out the team.
“We are pleased to have advised longstanding client StepStone on the successful closure of this landmark structured solution vehicle. This transaction reflects the continued evolution of the private markets and the growing market demand for flexible and capital-efficient secondaries solutions,” Heal said in a news release.
Bomford pointed to the firm’s ability to knit together different strands of advice on complicated fund builds.
“Our work on this transaction underscores our ability to offer integrated Cayman Islands investment funds and finance legal advice on complex and innovative fund structures. Drawing on our deep experience in this space, we are able to provide practical and coordinated support to help clients achieve a successful outcome,” he said.
The mandate caps a busy stretch on the alternatives desk. Earlier this week, Maples Group advised Blackstone Inc on the formation and final close of Blackstone Life Sciences VI, a US$6.3 billion fund it flagged as the largest private life sciences vehicle raised to date and roughly 40% bigger than its predecessor.
That job came with a fuller menu of services, spanning Cayman Islands and Irish legal advice, plus company secretarial, tax compliance and money laundering reporting officer support.
Rewind to earlier this month, and Maples and Calder was working with UBS Management (Cayman) Limited on the rollout of the Tokai Tokyo Hamilton Lane Global Private Assets Fund.
Built as a Cayman Islands unit trust, the fund has been cleared for public offering in Japan and is chasing capital appreciation through a diversified global portfolio of private assets.
The firm’s exchange work has also been ticking over. In March, Maples Group said its Cayman Islands practice handled 48% of all new Cayman Islands Stock Exchange (CSX) listings last year, including about 45 percent of the collateralised loan obligations added to the bourse, as the CSX notched its fourth-strongest year for new securities since opening in 1996.
