(Bloomberg) -- Visium Asset Management, the multistrategy hedge-fund manager with about $7 billion in assets, is seeking to raise $500 million for its first private equity fund, said two people with knowledge of the fundraising.
Visium Healthcare Partners will invest in debt of biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies, mainly in North America, Western Europe and Japan, according to an agenda item for a meeting on July 16 of the University of Michigan regents. The school is considering investing $50 million in the fund, the document shows.
The fund will be led by Avinash Amin and Ken Macleod, according to the Michigan document. Amin joined Visium from Siguler Guff & Co. in June 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile. Macleod is one of four Paul Capital professionals who moved to Visium in June 2013 to help start the firm’s healthcare royalty investment business.
The fund will “provide customized financing secured by senior claims on cash flows or assets to health-care companies” that need growth capital, according to the document.
A spokesman for Visium declined to comment. The people with knowledge of the fundraising asked not to be identified because the information is private.
Visium, which has offices in New York, London and San Francisco, currently manages five hedge funds and one mutual fund, according to its website. The firm was founded in 2005 by Jacob Gottlieb, who serves as its managing partner and chief investment officer.
