Prudential and Fosun form China PE fund

PFI is to commit $500 million to the vehicle and will act as the fund's LP, while Fosun will inject the remaining $100 million. According to Prudential, this is the company's largest third-party investment in its history, and the group selected Fosun as its investment partner because of its experience through its nearly 20 years of operation. In 2007 PFI took a 33% stake in mutual fund manager Everbright Pramerica, which is backed by Everbright Securities.

"The cooperation is based on optimism about the economic prospects for China, as well as the common investment philosophy between PFI and Fosun. We trust in Fosun's investment ability, industrial base and understanding of local markets," Mark Grier, Vice Chairman of PFI, said in a statement. "As one of PFI's most important strategic partners, Fosun will play a key role in PFI's China strategy and business development in the future."

PFI is not the first Western power player to be seduced by HKSE-listed Fosun's savvy. Last year, Fosun inked a strategic partnership with The Carlyle Group to jointly sponsor and manage an RMB fund for investments into high-growth PRC companies. That fund had an initial corpus of $100 million, with both companies aiming to broker co-investment deals with their existing funds. AVCJ reported at the time that the fund gave firms easier access to local investors, aided by Fosun' strong support from the Shanghai government.

The event on a whole highlights Fosun's interest in capitalizing on China's burgeoning investment landscape. According to Chairman Guo Guangchang at the deal's announcement last week, Fosun is looking to veer away from its role as an industrial holding company to that of an investment holding company in light of the opportunities at China's door, further telling media that he hopes Fosun will "be more like that of Warren Buffett" and Berkshire Hathaway.

Fosun was founded in 1992 by four university graduates from Fudan University, and now has around $15 billion in assets under management. Fosun has largely focused its investments into industries that benefit from China's rapid growth, including pharmaceuticals, property development, mining and retail.

 

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Financing