Leading global law firm Baker McKenzie advised Swiss private equity advisory firm Zurmont Madison as it completed a General Partner-led fund restructuring process for its 2007-vintage Zurmont Madison Private Equity LP (ZMPE) fund, and launched a new vehicle, ZM Opportunity II LP.

As part of the secondary fund restructuring, and the relevant transfer of all portfolio companies from ZMPE to ZM Opportunity II LP, investors have been offered the opportunity to either cash out their interest in ZMPE or roll it over into ZM Opportunity II LP, a newly formed fund with capital commitments of CHF 100 million that includes follow on capital to be deployed for the portfolio.

Andreas Ziegler, Partner of Zurmont Madison said,

    We are pleased that the General Partner was able to provide the fund’s investors with a solution that normally would not otherwise have been available to them. The high degree of investor support shows that the solution is sensible and the process was professionally and transparently handled.

This announcement comes amid news that the partners of Zurmont Madison have teamed up with Patrimonium, a Swiss asset manager, to found a new subsidiary for private equity investments, to establish Patrimonium Private Equity Advisors AG (PPEA). It is hoped that this partnership will strengthen and further grow their private equity business.

Werner Schnorf, Founding Partner of Zurmont Madison and designated Managing Director of PPEA said “Pooling our capabilities and experience in private equity with Patrimonium’s expertise and distribution capabilities in alternatives will be materially accretive to our business partners who will benefit from an extended market network as well as product offering in alternatives.”

The Zurich office of Baker McKenzie advised ZMPE on this transaction, in particular, the transfer of the relevant portfolio companies, with a team led by Alexander Fischer which included, among others, Matthias Trautmann, Mario Kumschick, Philippe Reich and Roger Thomi.

Alexander Fischer said,

    We appreciate having been offered the opportunity to assist Zurmont Madison in this demanding transaction. There are not that many secondary transactions in the Swiss market which include the transfer of entire portfolios; we are delighted to have been part of  this.