Ex-MBK Greater China head to launch private equity firm

Kung was a member of the original MBK team that spun out from The Carlyle Group in 2005. He resigned towards the end of last year to pursue personal interests, departing a couple of months before MBK closed its fourth North Asia buyout fund at $4.1 billion.

Kung will be joined at Nexus Point by Richard Wong, formerly co-head of Asia M&A at Morgan Stanley and Min Li, who previously led Bain Capital Private Equity’s healthcare practice in the region. The new venture was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and has since been verified by AVCJ.

During his time at MBK, Kung was responsible for deals including GSE Investment Corp, Beijing Bowei Airport Support, China Network Systems (CNS) and Apex Logistics. Freight forwarder Apex was the most recent investment, with MBK committing $84.5 million for a majority stake in June of 2015, and it remains in the portfolio.

Waste and wastewater treatment specialist GSE was sold to Beijing Enterprises Holdings in 2014 for $356 million, generating a 2.77x multiple and a 24.2% IRR, while Bowei was exited in 2016, also to a Chinese trade buyer, generating a return of 1.17x, according to MBK’s 2015 annual letter.

The GP bought CNS in 2006 for $1.5 billion and was on course for a 2.94x multiple and a 15.7% IRR – including distributions from leveraged recaps – after agreeing to sell the business to Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia and Far EasTone Telecommunications for an enterprise value of $2.3 billion. However, the deal was abandoned in February amid regulatory difficulties.

MBK’s other Greater China deals include Taiwan's Gala TV, Luye Pharma and New China Life Insurance. The first two were exited via secondary sales while the third went public.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• People
• Buyout
• GPs
• China
• MBK Partners
• Appointments
• Nexus Point Partners