Ex-TPG Asia head Ben Gray launches debut fund

Park Hill Group is serving as placement agent for the vehicle. While there is interest from groups that have backed TPG’s Asian funds, AVCJ understands that BGH also wants to connect with LPs for whom co-investment is not such a priority. These include the likes of US pension funds, European endowments, and Japanese institutions.

Gray’s departure from TPG was announced in August of 2015 but he stayed on until the end of the following year. The timing of BGH’s fund launch was dictated by the terms of his agreement with TPG, which holds a small minority stake in the GP.

Gray’s co-founders and fellow managing partners are Simon Harle, who spent around 10 years with TPG in Australia and before that worked with Gray at Credit Suisse, and Robin Bishop, who stepped down from his position as head of Australia and New Zealand at Macquarie Capital at the end of last year.

Stephanie Charles, who was previously an investment banker with Credit Suisse, has joined as a partner with responsibility for consumer sector deals as well as fundraising and capital markets activities. Terry Bowen, formerly CFO at Wesfarmers, has also come on board in a senior role.

Gray joined TPG in 2004 and became co-head of Asia in 2013. He led some of the firm’s largest deals in the region, including department store chain Myer, hospital operator Healthscope and poultry producer Ingham’s Enterprises. All three went public in Australia. A fourth, gas and electricity supplier Alinta Energy, was sold to a trade buyer in March.

Should BGH achieve its target, the fund would be by some distance the largest debut private equity vehicle raised for Australia and New Zealand. It would also place the firm in the same deal size strata as Pacific Equity Partners, which closed its fifth fund in late 2015 at A$2.1 billion.

TPG is currently in the market with its seventh pan-Asian fund, targeting between $4 billion and $4.5 billion. Joel Thickins, formerly of CHAMP Private Equity, now leads the firm’s Australia and New Zealand activities.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Fundraising
• Buyout
• Australia
• TPG Capital
• BGH Capital