Onex Corp. announced today that it has set up its second large-cap private equity fund, Onex Partners II LP, with a value of US$3.45 billion to help finance past and future acquisitions.

Onex said it has committed 41% of the capital, or US$1.4 billion, and will manage the private equity fund.

“We are delighted with the continued support of our existing investors, virtually all of whom have continued to partner with Onex,” Gerry Schwartz, chairman and CEO of Onex, said in a news release.

“Onex Partners II will allow Onex to continue to pursue attractive and sizable acquisition opportunities.”

Schwartz added that “through Onex’ large commitment to the fund, it is well positioned to invest its substantial cash balances, while continuing to build a third party asset management business that generates carried interests in future gains of the fund and meaningful annual fee income.”

It’s expected the fund’s first investment and the final investment for an earlier Onex Partners I fund, will be the US$710 million acquisition of Aon Warranty Group, one of the world’s largest providers of extended warranty contracts.

That deal is expected to close later this year.

The prior fund, Onex Partners I, was set up in late 2003 and has invested or committed to invest more than US$1.5 billion in nine new operating companies.

Onex manages third party private equity investments through the Onex Partners and Oncap family of funds and invests in real estate and public equities through Onex Real Estate Partners and Onex Capital Markets. Through these funds, Onex generates annual management fees and earns interest on about $3.5 billion of outside capital.