Weekly digest - November 08 2023
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08 November 2023
COVER STORY
PE investors are leaning into energy transition with new funds, strategies, and attitudes about risk. Regulation remains the perennial spoiler.
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AVCJ
EDITOR'S LETTER: AVCJ MOVES TO MERGERMARKET
Tim Burroughs, managing editor of AVCJ, outlines the next steps for the product and its subscribers as we migrate our content and enhance our offering via the next-generation Mergermarket platform. Read it here.
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Q&A
JEAN ERIC SALATA OF BPEA EQT
 Jean Eric Salata, head of BPEA EQT and chair of EQT Asia, on the benefits of diversification, why Asia’s limited reliance on leverage could lead to better relative performance, and being creative with liquidity.ANALYSIS
ASIA'S LP LANDSCAPE: NORTH TO SOUTH
 Pools of institutional – and less institutional – capital in Asia are deepening, but it remains a multi-speed market with some investors just beginning their alternatives journey and others achieving maturity.Q&A
LUCA MOLINARI OF MUBADALA
 An Abu Dhabi-headquartered sovereign investor Mubadala has a USD 276bn portfolio with interests across six continents. Luca Molinari, who leads Asia direct investments, outlines the regional strategy.DEAL FOCUS
RIVERSIDE FLOURISHES IN AUSTRALIA
 The Riverside Company has notched a sizeable exit with the sale of Australia’s Energy Exemplar as the GP expands its local team and launches its fourth Australia fund.DEAL FOCUS
TRUE NORTH TO END 13-YEAR JOURNEY WITH FINCARE
 Indian private equity firm True North took advantage of regulatory reforms to convert Fincare SFB from a non-bank into a bank. A merger with listed peer AU SFB will finally deliver an exit. |
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By the Numbers
AVCJ RESEARCH
SPECIAL SAUCE
Compiling a list of Asia’s largest distress and special situations fundraises of the past six years, two points stand out. First, the region has seen plenty of retreats and reorientations. Second, the definition of special situations has never been clear, which means managers may reclassify themselves as credit without really changing strategy.
The list features two new additions: Ares SSG recently closed its sixth Asia special situations fund on USD 2.4bn and Australia-based Anchorage Capital Partners raised AUD 505m (USD 329m) for its fourth turnaround vehicle. Only three other funds from the last three years feature in the top 15: the latest offerings from Korea-focused MBK Partners, Australia’s Allegro Funds, and global player Avenue Capital. As for the retreats and reorientations: India-focused AION Capital Partners is in wind down; Clearwater Capital Partners scaled back its fund sizes and then merged with a global platform; the parent of IL&FS Investment Managers collapsed, so the Lone Star tie-up faded; Shoreline Capital Management stopped raising US dollar-denominated funds but apparently has renminbi capital. There are others – Avenue Capital underwent an Asia reboot – while on the definition side, PAG started labelling its funds private credit rather than special situations. At the same time, industry participants expect special situations activity in the region to increase. This outlook is based in part on a pullback of pandemic-related policy supports, which is normalizing market conditions in sectors already dealing with changing supply chain dynamics and labour challenges. Ares singled out India and Australia as attractive markets due in part to robust corporate earnings growth and a perceived growing opportunity set for financing solutions for sponsor-led acquisitions. 
All of the trends featured here were sourced from AVCJ's proprietary database, AVCJ Research, featuring comprehensive information on private equity deals, fundraises and exits.
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For your calendar
UPCOMING EVENTS
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