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Goldman Sachs on 6 September 2021 that it is planning to take advantage of the boom in the private equity market by floating its investment vehicle, Petershill Partners, on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), in a deal that could value the company at £3.6bn. Petershill Partners will operate as a stand-alone company managed by Goldman Sachs' Asset Management team and will be governed by an independent board.

Petershill Partners was established in 2007 by Goldman Sachs as an investment group with a speciality in buying stakes in alternative asset managers. The stand-alone company has a combined £136bn worth of assets, four-fifths of which are in private markets managers, and the rest in hedge fund strategies. Petershill Partners  intends to use the proceeds of its float to purchase more stakes in alternative asset managers and potential investments. The firm is expected to concentrate new acquisitions on private capital managers and is likely to target sectors likely to benefit post-pandemic such as technology and ESG.

Petershill Partners expects to raise £542m through the IPO and is expected to be valued at £3.6bn; the listing on the FTSE index will involve its existing institutional investors selling down 25% of their stakes in the firm and offering them for sale on the public market. Assuming it's valued at £3.6bn, Petershill Partners will sell £363 million in existing stock. If it goes ahead, its flotation will make Petershill Partners the largest listed alternatives firm in London.

The Investment sector has been one of the most popular sectors for IPOs this year. Market Tracker’s research into IPOs indicates that 11 out of 75 IPOs (13%) and 10 out of 34 Main Market listings (29%) this year are in the Investment sector. This is a trend that has continued on from the previous year where the Investment sector dominated Main Market IPOs with 19 companies out of a total of 33 listed in that sector (see: ).

Goldman Sachs' decision to float Petershill Partners has come at a time of low-interest rates where investors are taking advantage of stronger financial returns. The IPO also coincides with a significant boom in the private equity industry and other alternative asset managers as private equity firms take advantage of the impact of Brexit and the pandemic on interest rates. Most recently, we have seen the bidding war for Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc (see: ) and last month, UK-based buyout firm, Bridgepoint, raised £300m in an IPO, and its shares have risen over 40% since its listing. High IPO deal activity has continued from H1 2021 (see: ), with 75 companies admitted to trading to date, in comparison to the 15 companies admitted to the LSE from 1 January 2020 to 9 September 2020.

The IPO also demonstrates Goldman Sachs' movement away from reliance on volatile equities and bond trading and their determination to grow in areas that earn regular fees, such as asset and wealth management. In August, Goldman Sachs that it would purchase Dutch insurer NN Group's asset management arm for £1.5bn, which marked the firm's biggest acquisition since David Salomon became CEO in 2018.

Ali Raissi, co-head of Petershill Partners, commented on the IPO in a statement:

‘Over the past 14 years, the Petershill group within Goldman Sachs has established itself as a partner of choice in the private capital sector. This IPO would be a natural next step in the evolution of the offering to Partner-firms, establishing a permanent capital source, and demonstrating long-term strategic alignment and partnership.’

Market Tracker will continue to monitor this transaction as it develops.