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Private equity

GP-led secondary

Give existing investors a documented liquidity or rollover choice when a sponsor restructures continued ownership of one or more fund assets.

Quick answer

A GP-led secondary is a transaction initiated by a fund's general partner to provide liquidity, extend ownership or restructure one or more assets. Common forms include continuation funds and tender offers. Existing investors may sell, roll or sometimes combine choices, subject to the transaction documents.

Use the worked example

Meaning and transaction use

An SEC-filed fund prospectus lists continuation funds, tender offers, strip sales and spin-outs as forms of GP-led transactions. [S1]

Another SEC filing identifies conflicts where a continuation-fund sponsor acts for both the selling legacy fund and the buying continuation fund. [S2]

Proposed control method: document valuation, conflicts, alternatives, allocation, elections, expenses and approvals in an investor-level audit trail.

Worked example

Illustrative election only. Assume an eligible interest value of 5.0 million, a 60% cash election and allocated costs equal to 1% of gross cash proceeds.

Scroll the table horizontally to view all columns.

MeasureCalculationResult
Gross cash election5.0 x 60%3.0m
Rollover value5.0 x 40%2.0m
Allocated cash costs3.0 x 1%0.03m
Net cash proceeds3.0 - 0.032.97m

The illustrative investor receives 2.97 million net cash and rolls 2.0 million before tax or other adjustments.

Proposed transaction review process

Set rationale

Document liquidity, duration, capital and asset strategy.

Manage conflicts

Establish valuation, approvals, advice and disclosure controls.

Run elections

Provide terms, alternatives, deadlines and investor-level calculations.

Close and report

Allocate interests, costs, carry, proceeds and rollover positions.

Evidence checklist

Rationale

Asset plan, alternatives, timing and continuation thesis.

Valuation

Financials, diligence, bids, fairness or valuation work and assumptions.

Conflicts

Disclosures, committee review, consents and adviser roles.

Elections

Investor notices, responses, allocations, costs and closing statements.

Decision framework

SituationProposed action
Price evidence is limitedExpand market testing or independent valuation support.
An investor needs liquidityApply the documented cash-election route and allocation rules.
Rolling and selling interests conflictUse the approved conflicts process and complete disclosure.
Follow-on capital is requiredState commitments, dilution and funding consequences clearly.

Common errors to check

  • Presenting rollover as economically identical to cash.
  • Ignoring buyer-seller conflicts.
  • Allocating expenses without a documented basis.
  • Using an election deadline without complete information.

Build the GP-led decision file

Bring the asset case, valuation, conflict controls and election mechanics to a GP-led review. Reconcile investor choices and closing allocations.

Discuss the transaction

Primary references and editorial scope

  1. SEC filing: GP-led secondary transaction forms
    Examples including continuation funds, tender offers, strip sales and spin-outs. Reference checked 17 September 2026.
  2. SEC filing: Continuation-fund conflicts
    Example conflicts between legacy fund, continuation fund, rolling investors and new investors. Reference checked 17 September 2026.
Editorial qualification

General transaction education using public United States filings. Figures are hypothetical. Fund documents, fiduciary duties, regulation, tax and transaction terms govern actual outcomes.

General business information. Obtain advice appropriate to the legal, tax, accounting and financing facts. No offer, lender commitment or transaction outcome is represented. All worked examples use expressly assumed figures. Editorial draft date: 17 September 2026.

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