Ascenta launches resources special situations fund
From News May 13 2009 BY: Gary Shepherd
, Editor
, Portfolio Adviser
Natural Resource specialist Ascenta International Holdings is seeking to raise $50m over 12 months for its new Guernsey-registered Special Situations Resource Fund.
Natural Resource specialist Ascenta International Holdings is seeking to raise $50m over 12 months for its new Guernsey-registered Special Situations Resource Fund.
The open-ended fund will aim to take advantage of distressed markets and weak commodity prices.
It will target three distinct types of issuers: larger-cap resource issuers with high liquidity levels and attractive longer-term value; special situations, targeting smaller public issuers trading well below their value; and earlier stage private issuers with quality assets and near-term growth potential.
Depressed pricing
With this mix of highly liquid mature issuers, discounted special situations and high-return growth opportunities, the fund will aim to take full advantage of depressed pricing within the sector, offering significant potential for capital appreciation as well as risk-managed diversification.
Jason Cubitt, managing director, Ascenta Finance Corp said this was the perfect time to launch the fund: “In our opinion the resource-based equity markets, like their underlying commodities, have reached the bottom. For a new fund entering an environment in which an entire sector is valued at or close to historic lows, opportunities for market outperformance are boundless.”
There are 4 currency classes for the fund – US$, GBP, Euro and Yen – and Ascenta aims to have $300mn under management within three years.